Investing.com - The pound remained lower against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday, as markets were jittery ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy statement this week, although upbeat U.K. data lent some support to sterling.
GBP/USD hit 1.6057 during U.S. morning trade, the pair's lowest since October 17; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.6074, shedding 0.42%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5941, the low of October 17 and resistance at 1.6208, Monday's high.
The pound found some support earlier, after the Bank of England said mortgage approvals rose to 66,735 in September, from an upwardly revised 63,396 in August. Analysts had forecast a reading of 66,000.
The BoE said net mortgage lending ticked down to GBP1 billion pounds in September, from an upwardly revised GBP1.1 billion in August. Meanwhile, net lending to individuals decreased to GBP1.4 billion in September from an upwardly revised GBP1.7 billion in August.
Analysts had forecast increases of GBP1.2 billion and GBP2.5 billion respectively.
Meanwhile, the dollar remained under pressure after data showed that U.S. consumer confidence fell more sharply than forecast in October, reinforcing the view that the Fed will keep monetary policy unchanged at its latest policy setting meeting on Wednesday.
The Conference Board said its index of consumer confidence dropped to 71.2 in October from an upwardly revised reading of 80.2 in September, as concerns over the U.S. government shutdown and the debt ceiling crisis weighed.
Analysts had expected the index to fall to 75.0 this month.
The data came a report showing that U.S. retail sales fell 0.1% in September, compared to expectations for a 0.1% increase. Core retail sales, which exclude automobile sales, edged up 0.4% last month, in line with expectations.
A separate report showed that U.S. producer price inflation ticked down 0.1% in September, missing forecasts for a 0.2% increase. Core inflation edged up 0.1%, in line with expectations.
Sterling was lower against the euro with EUR/GBP climbing 0.47%, to hit 0.8580.
The euro strengthened after European Central Bank Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny said the ECB was unlikely to cut the benchmark interest rate or the deposit rate at next week’s policy meeting. He also said the central bank had no instruments to use against the strong euro.
GBP/USD hit 1.6057 during U.S. morning trade, the pair's lowest since October 17; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.6074, shedding 0.42%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5941, the low of October 17 and resistance at 1.6208, Monday's high.
The pound found some support earlier, after the Bank of England said mortgage approvals rose to 66,735 in September, from an upwardly revised 63,396 in August. Analysts had forecast a reading of 66,000.
The BoE said net mortgage lending ticked down to GBP1 billion pounds in September, from an upwardly revised GBP1.1 billion in August. Meanwhile, net lending to individuals decreased to GBP1.4 billion in September from an upwardly revised GBP1.7 billion in August.
Analysts had forecast increases of GBP1.2 billion and GBP2.5 billion respectively.
Meanwhile, the dollar remained under pressure after data showed that U.S. consumer confidence fell more sharply than forecast in October, reinforcing the view that the Fed will keep monetary policy unchanged at its latest policy setting meeting on Wednesday.
The Conference Board said its index of consumer confidence dropped to 71.2 in October from an upwardly revised reading of 80.2 in September, as concerns over the U.S. government shutdown and the debt ceiling crisis weighed.
Analysts had expected the index to fall to 75.0 this month.
The data came a report showing that U.S. retail sales fell 0.1% in September, compared to expectations for a 0.1% increase. Core retail sales, which exclude automobile sales, edged up 0.4% last month, in line with expectations.
A separate report showed that U.S. producer price inflation ticked down 0.1% in September, missing forecasts for a 0.2% increase. Core inflation edged up 0.1%, in line with expectations.
Sterling was lower against the euro with EUR/GBP climbing 0.47%, to hit 0.8580.
The euro strengthened after European Central Bank Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny said the ECB was unlikely to cut the benchmark interest rate or the deposit rate at next week’s policy meeting. He also said the central bank had no instruments to use against the strong euro.