Investing.com - The pound edged lower against the U.S. dollar on Friday, re-approaching a three-week trough as new hopes for a U.S. rate hike before the end of the year sent the greenback broadly higher.
GBP/USD hit 1.5206 during European morning trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5221, slipping 0.12%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5168, the low of September 7 and resistance at 1.5369, the high of September 23.
In a speech late Thursday, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said she expected the central bank to begin raising rates later in 2015, as long as inflation remained stable and the U.S. economy was strong enough to boost employment.
The comments came after a string of U.S. data released on Thursday painted a mixed picture of the health of the economy.
The U.S. Department of Labor reported that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits increased by 3,000 to 267,000 last week, compared to expectations for a 7,000 rise.
Separately, the U.S. Commerce Department said that durable goods orders decreased by 2.0% last month, matching forecasts, while core durable goods orders, which exclude volatile transportation items, were flat, compared to expectations for an increase of 0.1%.
Data also showed that U.S. new home sales increased by 5.9% to 552.000 units in August, beating expectations for a 1.6% rise.
Investors were looking ahead to final reports on U.S. second quarter growth and consumer sentiment, due later in the day, for further indications on the strength of the economy.
Sterling was higher against the euro, with EUR/GBP declining 0.83% to 0.7305.