Investing.com - The pound fell to two-week lows against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday, as expectations for a U.S. rate hike in the coming months continued to lend broad support to the greenback.
GBP/USD hit 1.5385 during European morning trade, the pair's lowest since May 8; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5415, sliding 0.36%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5241, the low of May 8 and resistance at 1.5591, the high of May 20.
The dollar was boosted after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen reiterated Friday that the bank still expects to start raising interest rates later in the year if the economy continues to improve as expected.
She attributed a slowdown in first quarter growth to "transitory factors", including a harsh winter, but reiterated that the timing of an initial rate hike would be data dependent.
The greenback also strengthened after data on Friday showing that underlying inflation in the U.S. rose for a third straight month in April.
Investors were turning their attention to U.S. data on durable goods orders later Tuesday for a fresh indication on the strength of the economy.
Sterling was higher against the euro, with EUR/GBP shedding 0.24% to 0.7072.
Sentiment on the single currency remained vulnerable as the prospect of a Greek default continued to weigh.
Athens has warned that the country would be unable to make a €305 million payment to the International Monetary Fund due on June 5 if a cash-for-reforms deal with its international lenders is not reached by then.