Investing.com - The pound turned lower against the U.S. dollar on Friday, after the release of upbeat U.S. employment data sent the greenback broadly higher, while a disappointing U.K. construction report released earlier in the day continued to weigh on demand for sterling.
GBP/USD hit 1.6824 during U.S. morning trade, the pair's lowest since Wednesday; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.6842, shedding 0.30%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.6793, the low of April 29 and resistance at 1.6922, Thursday's high and a five-year high.
The dollar found support after the Labor Department said the U.S. economy added 288,000 jobs in April, beating expectations for a 210,000 increase. March's figure was revised up to a 203,000 rise from a previously estimated 192,000 gain.
The private sector added 273,000 last month, more than the expected 210,000 rise. In March, the number of private sector jobs was revised up to a 202,000 increase a previously estimated 192,000 rise.
The report also showed that the U.S. unemployment rate fell to 6.3% in April, from 6.7% the previous month, compared to expectations for a fall 6.6%.
Separately, data showed that U.S. factory orders rose 1.1% in March, less than the expected 1.4% gain, after a 1.5% rise in February, whose figure was revised down from a previously estimated 1.6% increase.
Earlier Friday, Markit said the U.K. construction purchasing managers' index fell to 60.8 in April, from a reading of 62.5 the previous monh. Analysts had expected the index to tick down to 62.0 last month.
Sterling was steady against the euro, with EUR/GBP dipping 0.01% to 0.8209.
In the euro zone, data earlier showed that the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 11.8% in March, confounding expectations for a rise to 11.9%. March's figure was revised down from a previously estimated rate of 11.9%.
Separately, Markit said Germany's manufacturing PMI slipped to 54.1 last month, from a reading of 54.2 in March. Analysts had expected the index to remain unchanged in April.
In Italy however, the manufacturing PMI rose to a 35-month high of 54.0 last month, from a reading of 52.4 in March, while Spain's manufacturing PMI ticked down to 52.7 in April, from a reading of 52.8 the previous month.