Investing.com - The pound was slightly lower against the dollar on Thursday after the Federal Reserve said Wednesday that it will start reducing monetary stimulus from next month, and after data showed that U.K. retail sales rose in line with expectations in November.
GBP/USD hit session lows of 1.6364 and was last down 0.07% to 1.6378, holding below the almost two-and-a-half year highs of 1.6482 struck on Wednesday.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.6350 and resistance at 1.6450.
The Federal Reserve announced Wednesday 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.
Sterling showed little reaction after the Office for National Statistics said U.K. 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 continued to be underpinned 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.
Elsewhere, sterling was almost unchanged against the euro, with EUR/GBP edging up 0.01% to 0.8350.
GBP/USD hit session lows of 1.6364 and was last down 0.07% to 1.6378, holding below the almost two-and-a-half year highs of 1.6482 struck on Wednesday.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.6350 and resistance at 1.6450.
The Federal Reserve announced Wednesday 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.
Sterling showed little reaction after the Office for National Statistics said U.K. 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 continued to be underpinned 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.
Elsewhere, sterling was almost unchanged against the euro, with EUR/GBP edging up 0.01% to 0.8350.