Investing.com - The pound trimmed gains against the U.S. dollar on Friday, pulling away from a nearly three-month high after the release of mixed U.K. economic reports, although sentiment on the greenback remained vulnerable ahead of a string of U.S. data due later in the day.
GBP/USD pulled back from 1.4665, the pair’s highest since February 4, to hit 1.4614 during European morning trade, steady for the day.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.4523, Thursday’s low and resistance at 1.4670, the high of February 4.
Official data showed that U.K. net lending to individuals rose by £9.3 billion in March, beating expectations for an increase of £5.0 billion. Net lending to individuals rose by £5.0 billion in February, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated gain of £4.9 billion.
Data also showed that U.K. mortgage approvals rose by 71,360 last month, compared to expectations for an increase of 74,500. Mortgage approvals rose by 73,190 in February, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated increase of 73,870.
Meanwhile, markets remained jittery after the Bank of Japan chose on Thursday to hold its monetary policy, defying market expectations for additional monetary easing.
The decision came a day after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged close to zero on Wednesday and offered little guidance on future rate hikes.
Market participants were looking ahead to U.S. data on employment costs, personal spending and consumer sentiment due later Friday, for further indications on the strength of the economy after data on Thursday painted a mixed picture.
Sterling was lower against the euro, with EUR/GBP gaining 0.33% to 0.7797.