Investing.com - The pound was almost unchanged against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday, hovering close to 15-month lows after data showed that U.K. manufacturing production declined unexpectedly in October.
GBP/USD hit 1.5627 during European morning trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5647, dipping 0.04%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5504 and resistance at 1.5726, the high of December 4.
The U.K. Office for National Statistics reported that manufacturing production decreased by 0.7% in October, disappointing expectations for a gain of 0.2%.
Manufacturing production rose by 0.6% in September, whose figure was upwardly revised from previously reported rise of 0.4%.
On an annualized basis, manufacturing production rose at rate of 1.7% in October, missing expectations for a gain of 3.2%, after rising at a rate of 2.9% in the preceding month.
The report also showed that industrial production fell 0.1% in October, compared to expectations for a 0.2% gain, after rising 0.7% in September.
Meanwhile, the dollar remained broadly supported after the Labor Department reported last Friday that the U.S. economy added 321,000 jobs in November, far more than the 225,000 forecast by economists and the largest monthly increase in almost three years.
The strong data fuelled to expectations for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates mid-2015, compared to expectations for September 2015 before the report.
Earlier Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Fed officials are looking at dropping an assurance that interest rates will stay low for a "considerable time", in its statement, following its upcoming policy meeting next week.
Sterling was lower against the euro, with EUR/GBP rising 0.22% to 0.7889.