Investing.com - The pound firmed against the dollar on Wednesday after a widely-watched barometer of the U.S. service sector missed expectations.
In U.S. trading on Wednesday, GBP/USD was trading at 1.6722, up 0.34%, up from a session low of 1.6658 and off a high of 1.6742.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.6641, Tuesday's low, and resistance at 1.6751, Monday's high.
In the U.S., investors took in stride payroll processor ADP's nonfarm payrolls report, which revealed that the U.S. private sector added 139,000 jobs in February, below expectations for an increase of 160,000.
However, the U.S. dollar did take a hit after the Institute of Supply Management said its services purchasing managers' index fell to a 43-month low of 51.6 last month from 54.0 in January. Analysts had expected the index to tick down to 53.5 in February.
Investors avoided the dollar to await Friday's February jobs report for a fresh clue over the influence rough winter weather may have had on the economy last month.
Meanwhile in the U.K., the Markit services PMI for February came in at 58.2., close to January’s 58.1 reading and ahead of forecasts for a decline to 58.0.
The report said jobs growth in the sector was down only slightly from January's almost 17-year high, as new orders continued to rise at a fast clip.
“The services economy notched up yet another month of robust growth in February, a performance that is all the more remarkable given the weather related disruptions that have hit many businesses,” Chris Williamson, Chief Economist at Markit said.
“Alongside vibrant growth in manufacturing and construction, the upbeat picture of the services economy points to the country enjoying another quarter of robust economic growth of approximately 0.7%.”
Sterling was up against the euro, with EUR/GBP down 0.45% at 0.8211, and up against the yen, with GBP/JPY up 0.48% as 171.16.
On Thursday, the Bank of England is to announce its decision on interest rates and monetary policy.
The U.S. is to publish the weekly report on initial jobless claims and data on factory orders. Canada is to publish a report on building permits and the Ivey PMI.