Investing.com - The pound held steady near 10-month lows against the dollar on Tuesday, after the release of mixed U.K. economic reports, as a weekend opinion poll indicating that support for Scottish independence is gaining momentum continued to weigh.
GBP/USD hit 1.6064 earlier during European morning trade, the lowest level since November and was last down 0.06% at 1.6095.
Cable was likely to find support at around 1.5852 and resistance at the 1.6225 level.
Official data showed that U.K. manufacturing production rose 0.3% in July, in line with expectations, after a 0.3% gain the previous month.
A separate report showed that the U.K. trade deficit widened to £10.19 billion in July, from £9.41 billion in June. Analysts had expected the trade deficit to narrow to £9.10 billion in July.
The pound came under broad selling pressure on Monday after an opinion poll in The Sunday Times showed that Scottish pro-independence voters were narrowly in the lead for the first time since the referendum campaign began.
Uncertainty over what currency choices an independent Scotland would have available pressured the pound lower, as politicians in Westminster warned that a formal currency union would be impossible.
Meanwhile, the dollar found further support after a study by the San Francisco Federal Reserve published on Monday indicated that Fed officials see rates rising earlier than markets expect.
The greenback has strengthened in recent weeks amid expectations that the Fed may announce a rate increase earlier than expected after economic data indicated that the recovery in the U.S. is progressing strongly.
Sterling was higher against the euro, with EUR/GBP slipping 0.11% to 0.7999.
The single currency remained under pressure after the European Central Bank cut rates to record lows across the euro zone late last week and announced fresh stimulus measures in an attempt to shore up slowing growth and inflation in the region.