Investing.com - The pound held steady against the U.S. dollar on Monday, as disappointing U.S. manufacturing data weighed on demand for the greenback, while an ealier U.K. report continued to dampen demand for sterling.
GBP/USD hit 1.6768 during U.S. morning trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.6754, inching up 0.01%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.6693, the high of May 29 and resistance at 1.6816, the high of May 28.
In a report, the Institute of Supply Management said its manufacturing purchasing managers' index ticked down to 53.2 in May, from a reading of 54.9 the previous month, confouding expectations for a rise to 55.5.
The data came after a string of disappointing U.S. economic reports on Friday dented optimism over the strength of the country's economic recovery.
In the U.K., Markit research group said the U.K. manufacturing PMI ticked down to 57.0 in June, from a reading of 57.3 the previous month, in line with expectations.
A separate report showed that net lending to individuals in the U.K. rose by £2.4 billion in April, below expectations for a £2.7 billion increase, after a downwardly revised £2.8 billion gain in March.
Sterling was fractionally higher against the euro, with EUR/GBP edging down 0.09% to 0.8130.
Also Monday, official data earlier showed that German consumer price inflation accelerated at an annualized rate of 0.9% last month, down from 1.3% in April. Analysts had expected German consumer prices to rise by 1.1% in May.
Separately, Markit research group said that Spain's manufacturing PMI rose to 52.9 this month, from 52.7 in May, while Italy's manufacturing PMI slipped to 53.2 in June, from a reading of 54.0.