Investing.com - The pound held steady against the U.S. dollar on Friday, after the release of lower-than-expected public sector net borrowing data from the U.K., as demand for the greenback remained broadly supported.
GBP/USD hit 1.5651 during European morning trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5667, dipping 0.02%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5547, Thursday's low and resistance at 1.5787, the high of December 16.
In a report, the Office for National Statistics said that U.K. public sector net borrowing rose by £13.41 billion last month, compared to expectations for an increase of £15.37 billion. October' figure was revised to a £6.43 billion gain from a previously estimated £7.06 billion rise.
Meanwhile, the dollar remained supported after the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending December 12 fell by 6,000 to 289,000 from the previous week’s revised total of 295,000. Economist had forecast an increase of 1,000.
The greenback also continued to benefit from the Federal Reserve's latest policy statement. On Wednesday, the Fed said it would be "patient" before raising rates, guidance which it said is consistent with earlier assurances statement that rates would stay low "for a considerable time."
The central bank acknowledged the improvement in the U.S. labor market and noted that the economy is making progress toward its goals in inflation and employment.
At the bank’s post policy meeting press conference Fed Chair Janet Yellen said the Fed was unlikely to raise rates for the "next couple of meetings" indicating that a move in April at the earliest is possible.
Sterling was fractionally higher against the euro, with EUR/GBP easing 0.08% to 0.7834.
In the euro zone, data earlier showed that the Gfk German consumer climate index rose to a six-month high of 9.0 in December from a reading of 8.7 the previous month. Analysts had expected the index to tick up to 8.9 this month.