Investing.com - The pound was steady close to six-week lows against the dollar on Thursday, one day after posting its largest one-day decline in four months amid concerns that the U.K. housing market could be losing some momentum.
GBP/USD hit lows of 1.6691, the lowest level since April 15 and was last at 1.6705.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.6657, the low of April 15 and resistance at 1.6750.
The drop in the pound came after a report by the British Bankers' Association earlier in the week showed that banks approved the lowest number of mortgages in eight months in April.
The data added to indications that the U.K. housing market is starting to slow, prompting investors to trim back expectations for a rate hike by the Bank of England later this year.
Sterling remained weaker even after BoE monetary policy committee member Martin Weale said Wednesday that a rise in the cost of borrowing should happen "sooner rather than later".
He said the bank should not wait too long to start raising interest rates as a delay would eventually mean sharper and more painful tightening of policy.
Demand for the dollar continued to be underpinned after data earlier in the week indicated that the U.S. economy is improving.
Investors were looking ahead to updated first quarter growth figures from the U.S. later in the trading day, after the preliminary estimate showed that the economy grew just 0.1%.
Elsewhere, sterling was near one-week lows against the euro, with EUR/GBP at 0.8134, just below Wednesday’s highs of 0.8142.
The euro’s gains were held in check amid mounting expectations that the European Central Bank will ease monetary policy at its upcoming meeting next week, in order to safeguard the fragile recovery in the euro area.