Investing.com - The pound slipped lower against the U.S. dollar on Friday, as demand for the greenback remained supported by the previous session's upbeat U.S. retail sales report and ahead of an additional report on U.S. consumer sentiment due later in the day.
GBP/USD hit 1.5492 during European morning trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5502, edging down 0.10%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5365, the low of June 10 and resistance at 1.5591, the high of May 20.
The dollar found support after the U.S. Commerce Department reported on Thursday that retail sales increased by 1.2% last month, beating expectations for a gain of 1.1%, and that core retail sales, which exclude automobile sales, rose by 1.0% in May, compared to forecasts for a 0.7% increase.
At the same time, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending June 6 increased unexpectedly by 2,000 to 279,000.
Investors were looking ahead to a preliminary report on U.S. consumer sentiment due later in the day, for further indications on the strength of the economy.
Sterling was higher against the euro, with EUR/GBP down 0.24% at 0.7234.
The euro remained under pressure since the International Monetary Fund pulled out of Greek debt talks on Thursday after it accused Athens of failing to compromise over labour market and pension reforms.
The IMF said its team of negotiators had quit talks in Brussels after reaching a stalemate and would be returning to Washington.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was scheduled to resume talks in Brussels with European commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Friday. However, such a meeting is now in doubt.
A government spokesman said Greece's negotiating team is "ready" to intensify efforts to wrap up a deal "even in the next 24 hours."