Investing.com - The pound remained lower against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday, as market sentiment came under pressure following a string of disappointing economic reports from the U.S. and the euro zone.
GBP/USD hit 1.6161 during U.S. morning trade, the pair’s lowest since April 27; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.6190, shedding 0.18%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.6108, the low of April 24 and resistance at 1.6238, the session high.
U.S. payroll processing firm ADP said that non-farm employment rose by 119,000 in April, the lowest increase since September 2011, after a 201,000 rise the previous month. Analysts had expected non-farm employment to rise by 178,000 in April.
A separate government report showed that factory orders in the U.S. declined 1.5% in March, in line with expectations and following a 1.1% rise the previous month.
Sentiment weakened broadly earlier after final euro zone manufacturing data for April came in weaker-than-expected, with the manufacturing purchasing managers’ index slumping to a 34-month low of 45.9 in April, down from 47.7 in March and below the preliminary estimate of 46.0.
The data indicated that the region’s core economies are being affected by the ongoing debt crisis, with German manufacturing output falling at the fastest rate since July 2009.
A separate report earlier showed that the German unemployment rate also rose last month.
Meanwhile, official data showed that the unemployment rate across the 17-nation euro zone rose to a record 10.9% in March.
Elsewhere, the pound was trading close to a fresh 22-month high against the euro with EUR/GBP declining 0.43%, to hit 0.8124.
The pound found some support earlier after reports showed that construction sector activity in the U.K. declined less-than-expected in April, while U.K. mortgage approvals rose unexpectedly in March.
The U.K. construction PMI came in at 55.8 in April, down from 56.7 the previous month, beating expectations for a decline to 54.0, indicating that the sector is continuing to recover.
GBP/USD hit 1.6161 during U.S. morning trade, the pair’s lowest since April 27; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.6190, shedding 0.18%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.6108, the low of April 24 and resistance at 1.6238, the session high.
U.S. payroll processing firm ADP said that non-farm employment rose by 119,000 in April, the lowest increase since September 2011, after a 201,000 rise the previous month. Analysts had expected non-farm employment to rise by 178,000 in April.
A separate government report showed that factory orders in the U.S. declined 1.5% in March, in line with expectations and following a 1.1% rise the previous month.
Sentiment weakened broadly earlier after final euro zone manufacturing data for April came in weaker-than-expected, with the manufacturing purchasing managers’ index slumping to a 34-month low of 45.9 in April, down from 47.7 in March and below the preliminary estimate of 46.0.
The data indicated that the region’s core economies are being affected by the ongoing debt crisis, with German manufacturing output falling at the fastest rate since July 2009.
A separate report earlier showed that the German unemployment rate also rose last month.
Meanwhile, official data showed that the unemployment rate across the 17-nation euro zone rose to a record 10.9% in March.
Elsewhere, the pound was trading close to a fresh 22-month high against the euro with EUR/GBP declining 0.43%, to hit 0.8124.
The pound found some support earlier after reports showed that construction sector activity in the U.K. declined less-than-expected in April, while U.K. mortgage approvals rose unexpectedly in March.
The U.K. construction PMI came in at 55.8 in April, down from 56.7 the previous month, beating expectations for a decline to 54.0, indicating that the sector is continuing to recover.