Investing.com - The pound fell to nearly two-week lows against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday, as market sentiment came under pressure ahead of the Federal Reserve's highly anticipated policy statement, expected later in the trading session.
GBP/USD hit 1.5188 during European afternoon trade, the pair's lowest since July 18; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5208, falling 0.19%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.5079, the low of July 17 and resistance at 1.5281, the high of July 19.
Market participants looked ahead to the Fed's upcoming policy statement due later in the day on hopes the central bank will offer more clues on when it could slow the pace of its monthly bond purchases.
Investors were also eyeing the release of U.S. growth figures for the second quarter for further indications on the strength of the country's economic recovery.
Sterling was lower against the euro with EUR/GBP rising 0.25%, to hit 0.8726.
In the euro zone, preliminary data showed that consumer price inflation remained unchanged at an annualized rate of 1.6% in July, in line with expectations.
Data also showed that the unemployment rate in the single currency bloc held steady at 12.1% last month, confounding expectations for a rise to 12.2%.
Earlier Wednesday, official data showed that the number of unemployed people in Germany fell by 7,000 in June, after a 13,000 decline the previous month. Analysts had expected the number of unemployed people to fall by 4,000 last month.
Germany's unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6.8% in June, in line with expectations.
A separate report showed that German retail sales declined 1.5% in June, disappointing expectations for a 0.4% rise, after an increase of 0.7% the previous month.
GBP/USD hit 1.5188 during European afternoon trade, the pair's lowest since July 18; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5208, falling 0.19%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.5079, the low of July 17 and resistance at 1.5281, the high of July 19.
Market participants looked ahead to the Fed's upcoming policy statement due later in the day on hopes the central bank will offer more clues on when it could slow the pace of its monthly bond purchases.
Investors were also eyeing the release of U.S. growth figures for the second quarter for further indications on the strength of the country's economic recovery.
Sterling was lower against the euro with EUR/GBP rising 0.25%, to hit 0.8726.
In the euro zone, preliminary data showed that consumer price inflation remained unchanged at an annualized rate of 1.6% in July, in line with expectations.
Data also showed that the unemployment rate in the single currency bloc held steady at 12.1% last month, confounding expectations for a rise to 12.2%.
Earlier Wednesday, official data showed that the number of unemployed people in Germany fell by 7,000 in June, after a 13,000 decline the previous month. Analysts had expected the number of unemployed people to fall by 4,000 last month.
Germany's unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6.8% in June, in line with expectations.
A separate report showed that German retail sales declined 1.5% in June, disappointing expectations for a 0.4% rise, after an increase of 0.7% the previous month.