Investing.com - The pound remained moderately lower against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, as the greenback remained supported after the Federal Reserve decided to begin tapering its stimulus program as soon as next month.
GBP/USD hit 1.6362 during European afternoon trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.6365, slipping 0.15%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.6350 and resistance at 1.6450.
On Wednesday, the Fed announced that it would reduce its USD85 billion-a-month bond buying program by USD10 billion in January. Outgoing Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said the economy was continuing to make progress.
The U.S. central bank reiterated that interest rates are likely to remain low even after the unemployment rate drops below 6.5%, the threshold at which the Fed has previously said it would start to consider rate increases.
In the U.K., the Office for National Statistics earlier said retail sales increased by 0.3% last month, matching forecasts. Retail sales were 2% higher on a year-over-year basis, the ONS said, undershooting expectations for a 2.3% gain, after rising at an annual rate of 1.8% in October.
Demand for the pound remained supported after data on Wednesday showed that the U.K. unemployment rate unexpectedly fell to a four-and-a-half year low of 7.4% in the three months to October, fuelling hopes that the Bank of England will raise interest rates ahead of other central banks.
Sterling was little changed against the euro, with EUR/GBP dipping 0.02% to 0.8349.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish data on existing home sales, manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia region and initial jobless claims.
GBP/USD hit 1.6362 during European afternoon trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.6365, slipping 0.15%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.6350 and resistance at 1.6450.
On Wednesday, the Fed announced that it would reduce its USD85 billion-a-month bond buying program by USD10 billion in January. Outgoing Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said the economy was continuing to make progress.
The U.S. central bank reiterated that interest rates are likely to remain low even after the unemployment rate drops below 6.5%, the threshold at which the Fed has previously said it would start to consider rate increases.
In the U.K., the Office for National Statistics earlier said retail sales increased by 0.3% last month, matching forecasts. Retail sales were 2% higher on a year-over-year basis, the ONS said, undershooting expectations for a 2.3% gain, after rising at an annual rate of 1.8% in October.
Demand for the pound remained supported after data on Wednesday showed that the U.K. unemployment rate unexpectedly fell to a four-and-a-half year low of 7.4% in the three months to October, fuelling hopes that the Bank of England will raise interest rates ahead of other central banks.
Sterling was little changed against the euro, with EUR/GBP dipping 0.02% to 0.8349.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish data on existing home sales, manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia region and initial jobless claims.