Investing.com - The pound edged lower against the dollar on Wednesday, but remained supported above the 1.7100 level ahead of Federal Reserve meeting minutes later in the day.
GBP/USD eased down to 1.7115, holding above Tuesday’s one week lows of 1.7084.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.7075 and resistance at 1.7146, Tuesday’s high.
Sterling fell to one-week lows before recovering slightly on Tuesday after data showing an unexpected decline in U.K. manufacturing and industrial output indicated that the economic recovery may not be as strong as hoped.
The reports prompted investors to sell sterling to lock in gains after the currency rose to six-year highs against the dollar late last week.
The pound has strengthened broadly this year amid expectations that the deepening economic recovery in the U.K. will see the Bank of England raise interest rates before the end of 2014.
The pound’s losses were held in check amid concerns that recent U.S. data showing that the labor market is continuing to strengthen will not be enough to prompt the Fed to bring forward its timetable for raising interest rates.
Official data late last week showed that the U.S. economy added a larger-than-forecast 288,000 jobs last month, while the unemployment rate ticked down to 6.1%, the lowest in almost six years.
Markets were looking the minutes of the Fed’s June meeting, due for publication later in the trading day, for further indications on its monetary policy stance. The Fed was expected to stick to its dovish stance amid concerns over ongoing slow growth in inflation and wages.
Elsewhere, sterling slipped lower against the euro, with EUR/GBP easing up 0.12% to 0.7954.