Investing.com - The pound held steady against the U.S. dollar on Friday, as the previous session's upbeat U.S. data continued to support demand for the greenback and investors eyed the release of additional U.S. economic reports later in the day.
GBP/USD hit 1.5487 during European morning trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5453.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5243, Thursday's low and resistance at 1.5513, Thursday's high and a three-week peak.
The dollar strengthened broadly after the U.S. Department of Labor reported on Thursday that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending October 10 decreased by 7,000 to 255,000 from the previous week’s total of 262,000.
Analysts had expected jobless claims to rise by 8,000 to 270,000.
Separately, the U.S. Commerce Department said that consumer prices fell 0.2% last month, matching forecasts. Year-over-year, consumer prices were flat in September.
Core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy costs, increased by 0.2%, above expectations for a gain of 0.1%.
Investors were awaiting reports on U.S. industrial production and consumer sentiment due later in the day, for further indications on the strength of the economy.
Sterling was higher against the euro, with EUR/GBP shedding 0.23% to 0.7345.