Investing.com - The pound was hovering close to a one-week low against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, as downbeat Chinese and euro zone data continued to weigh on risk sentiment, while markets eyed the release of U.S. economic reports later in the day.
GBP/USD hit 1.6164 during European afternoon trade, the pair's lowest since September 14; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.6190, shedding 0.20%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.6077, the low of September 13 and resistance at 1.6271, Wednesday's high.
Sentiment remained under pressure after preliminary data showed that the euro zone’s manufacturing purchasing manufacturers' index rose more-than-expected in September to 46.0, from 45.1 the previous month, while the service sector PMI fell unexpectedly to 46.0, from 47.2.
A separate report showed that manufacturing activity in Germany contracted at the slowest rate in six months in September, while service sector activity grew modestly.
In France, manufacturing activity tumbled unexpectedly in September, dropping to a three-and-a-half year low led by a marked reduction in incoming new business.
Elsewhere, data earlier showed that China’s HSBC Flash Purchasing Managers Index rose slightly to 47.8 in September from a final reading of 47.6 in August.
Despite the modest uptick higher, manufacturing activity in China remained in contraction territory for the 11th consecutive month, adding to fears over a further slowdown in the region’s largest economy.
The pound found some support however, after official data showed that U.K. retail sales fell by a seasonally adjusted 0.2% in August, compared to expectations for a 0.4% decline. Retail sales rose by 0.3% in July.
Retail sales rose at an annualized rate of 2.7% in August, in line with expectations, after rising at a rate of 2.3% in the preceding month.
Core retail sales, which exclude automobile sales, fell 0.3% last month, in line with expectations, after posting a flat reading in July.
Sterling was higher against the euro with EUR/GBP dropping 0.53%, to hit 0.8001.
Also Thursday, Spain’s Treasury sold EUR859 billion worth of 10-year government bonds at an average yield of 5.66%, down from 6.64% at a similar auction last month.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release its weekly government report on initial jobless claims, as well as an index of manufacturing activity in Philadelphia.
GBP/USD hit 1.6164 during European afternoon trade, the pair's lowest since September 14; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.6190, shedding 0.20%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.6077, the low of September 13 and resistance at 1.6271, Wednesday's high.
Sentiment remained under pressure after preliminary data showed that the euro zone’s manufacturing purchasing manufacturers' index rose more-than-expected in September to 46.0, from 45.1 the previous month, while the service sector PMI fell unexpectedly to 46.0, from 47.2.
A separate report showed that manufacturing activity in Germany contracted at the slowest rate in six months in September, while service sector activity grew modestly.
In France, manufacturing activity tumbled unexpectedly in September, dropping to a three-and-a-half year low led by a marked reduction in incoming new business.
Elsewhere, data earlier showed that China’s HSBC Flash Purchasing Managers Index rose slightly to 47.8 in September from a final reading of 47.6 in August.
Despite the modest uptick higher, manufacturing activity in China remained in contraction territory for the 11th consecutive month, adding to fears over a further slowdown in the region’s largest economy.
The pound found some support however, after official data showed that U.K. retail sales fell by a seasonally adjusted 0.2% in August, compared to expectations for a 0.4% decline. Retail sales rose by 0.3% in July.
Retail sales rose at an annualized rate of 2.7% in August, in line with expectations, after rising at a rate of 2.3% in the preceding month.
Core retail sales, which exclude automobile sales, fell 0.3% last month, in line with expectations, after posting a flat reading in July.
Sterling was higher against the euro with EUR/GBP dropping 0.53%, to hit 0.8001.
Also Thursday, Spain’s Treasury sold EUR859 billion worth of 10-year government bonds at an average yield of 5.66%, down from 6.64% at a similar auction last month.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release its weekly government report on initial jobless claims, as well as an index of manufacturing activity in Philadelphia.