Investing.com - The pound edged down to fresh 17-month lows against the U.S. dollar on Monday, weighed by data showing that U.K. construction sector activity expanded at the slowest rate in 17 months in December, while demand for the greenback continued to be broadly supported.
GBP/USD hit 1.5167 during European morning trade, the pair's lowest since August 2013; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5307, slipping 0.13%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5101 and resistance at 1.5587, the high of January 2.
In a report, market research firm Markit and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply said that their U.K. construction purchasing managers' index declined to 57.6 last month from a reading of 59.4 in November. Economists had expected the index to fall to 59.0 in December.
On Friday, Markit had reported that its U.K. manufacturing PMI slipped to 52.5 last month from a reading of 53.5 in November. Analysts had expected the index to rise to 53.6 in December.
Meanwhile, the dollar remained broadly supported by the diverging monetary policy stance between the Federal Reserve and central banks in Europe and Japan.
A recent string of upbeat U.S. data sparked optimism over the strength of the country's economic recovery and added to expectations for the Fed to soon raise interest rates.
Sterling was higher against the euro, with EUR/GBP shedding 0.26% to 0.7811.