Investing.com - The pound remained almost unchanged against the dollar on Tuesday after data showing that the U.K. construction sector posted another month of solid growth in October.
GBP/USD was last at 1.5411 from around 1.5418 ahead of the data.
The Markit U.K. construction purchasing managers' index ticked down to 58.8 last month from 59.9 in September, matching economists’ forecasts.
Business activity continued to rise in all three construction sub-categories, survey compiler Markit said.
Commercial building work was a key growth driver in October, as housing and civil engineering activity both expanded at slower rates than in September.
New orders picked up and employment growth in the sector rose at the fastest rate since November 2014.
The report came one day after a similar survey of the U.K. manufacturing sector showed that activity expanded at the fastest rate in 16 months in October, bolstering the outlook for fourth quarter growth.
Sterling remained higher against the euro, with EUR/GBP down 0.24% to 0.7129 from 0.7125 earlier.
Trade remained subdued after a market holiday in Japan on Tuesday, as investors awaited Friday’s latest U.S. jobs report for indications on the likelihood of a December rate hike.
The Federal Reserve left rates on hold last week but indicated that it could still raise interest rates for the first time since 2006 at its December meeting.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.17% to 97.17.