Investing.com - The pound rose against the U.S. dollar on Monday, as investors locked in gains from the greenback's recent rally to nearly 5-year highs against the U.K. currency, although demand for sterling remained pressured by Bank of England Governor Mark Carney's comments on Friday.
GBP/USD hit 1.4798 during European morning trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.4783, adding 0.25%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.4696, Friday's low and a 20-month low and resistance at 1.4896, the high of March 13.
The dollar strengthened broadly on Friday after downbeat U.S. data dampened optimism over the strength of the economy, weighing on market sentiment.
The U.S. Department of Labor reported that producer prices fell 0.5% last month, confounding expectations for a 0.3% gain, after a 0.8% decline in January.
Separately, the University of Michigan said that its consumer sentiment index fell to a four-month low of 91.2 this month from 95.4 in February, disappointing expectations for a rise to 95.5.
Market participants were now eyeing Wednesday’s Federal Reserve statement to see if it would drop its reference to being patient before raising rates and signal that it is ready to hike rates depending on economic data.
But sentiment on the pound remained vulnerable after BoE Governor Mark Carney indicated on Friday that interest rates could remain on hold beyond the start of next year.
Sterling was lower against the euro, with EUR/GBP edging up 0.17% to 0.7128.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce reports on industrial production and manufacturing activity in the New York region, as well as private sector data on the housing market.