Investing.com - The pound pushed lower against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, as investors locked in gains after sterling rallied to eight-month highs against the dollar on Wednesday, although news that the Federal Reserve left its stimulus program unchanged limited the greenback's gains.
GBP/USD hit 1.6146 during U.S. morning trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.6064, shedding 0.49%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5893, Wednesday's low and resistance at 1.6163, Wednesday's high and an eight-month high.
Sterling rallied against the dollar on Wednesday, after the Fed held back from reducing the USD85 billion pace of its monthly asset purchases.
Bernanke refused to commit to reducing bond purchases this year, saying the stimulus program was "not on a preset course."
Separately, the Fed cut its projection for 2013 economic growth to a 2.0% to 2.3% range from a June estimate of 2.3% to 2.6%.
Data on Thursday showed that the Philly Fed manufacturing index rose to a 30-month high of 22.3 in September, from a reading of 9.3 the previous month, blowing past expectations for an increase to 10.0.
Industry data also showed that U.S. existing home sales rose 1.7% to 5.48 million units last month, from 5.39 million in July. Analysts had expected existing home sales to fall 2.6% to 5.25 million in August.
Earlier Thursday, the Department of Labor said the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. rose by 15,000 to a seasonally adjusted 309,000 in the week ending September 13, from an upwardly revised 294,000 the previous week.
Analysts had expected the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance to rise by 36,000 to 330,000 last week.
In the U.K., official data showed that retail sales fell 0.9% in August, confounding expectations for a 0.4% rise, after a 1.1% increase the previous month.
In addition, the Confederation of British Industry said its index of industrial order expectations rose to 9 in September, from a reading of zero in August, beating expectations for an increase to 2.
Sterling was also lower against the euro with EUR/GBP climbing 0.72%, to hit 0.8437.
GBP/USD hit 1.6146 during U.S. morning trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.6064, shedding 0.49%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5893, Wednesday's low and resistance at 1.6163, Wednesday's high and an eight-month high.
Sterling rallied against the dollar on Wednesday, after the Fed held back from reducing the USD85 billion pace of its monthly asset purchases.
Bernanke refused to commit to reducing bond purchases this year, saying the stimulus program was "not on a preset course."
Separately, the Fed cut its projection for 2013 economic growth to a 2.0% to 2.3% range from a June estimate of 2.3% to 2.6%.
Data on Thursday showed that the Philly Fed manufacturing index rose to a 30-month high of 22.3 in September, from a reading of 9.3 the previous month, blowing past expectations for an increase to 10.0.
Industry data also showed that U.S. existing home sales rose 1.7% to 5.48 million units last month, from 5.39 million in July. Analysts had expected existing home sales to fall 2.6% to 5.25 million in August.
Earlier Thursday, the Department of Labor said the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. rose by 15,000 to a seasonally adjusted 309,000 in the week ending September 13, from an upwardly revised 294,000 the previous week.
Analysts had expected the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance to rise by 36,000 to 330,000 last week.
In the U.K., official data showed that retail sales fell 0.9% in August, confounding expectations for a 0.4% rise, after a 1.1% increase the previous month.
In addition, the Confederation of British Industry said its index of industrial order expectations rose to 9 in September, from a reading of zero in August, beating expectations for an increase to 2.
Sterling was also lower against the euro with EUR/GBP climbing 0.72%, to hit 0.8437.