Investing.com - The pound was almost unchanged against the U.S. dollar on Friday, after the release of tepid U.K. construction data as investors remained cautious ahead of an upcoming referendum on Scottish independance.
GBP/USD hit 1.6218 during European morning trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.6247, inching up 0.06%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.6168, the low of September 7 and a 10-month low and resistance at 1.6339, the high of September 5.
Markets shrugged off official data showing that U.K. construction output was flat in July, compared to expectations for a 0.7% rise, after an increase of 1.2%.
The pound remained mildly supported after a new opinion poll on Scottish independence released on Wednesday showed that support for the no campaign was back in the lead with 53% of voters.
Uncertainty over what currency an independent Scotland would use, as well as concerns over how much of the U.K. national debt it would take on have sparked a broad based selloff in sterling in the past week.
Meanhile, demand for the dollar continued to be underpinned by expectations for an early hike in U.S. interest rates, despite data on Thursday showing that U.S. jobless claims rose more than expected last week.
A study by the San Francisco Fed published on Monday indicated that central bank officials see rates rising sooner than markets expect.
The Fed was expected to cut its asset purchase program by another $10 billion at its upcoming policy meeting next week which would keep it on track for winding up the program in October, and to start raising interest rates sometime in mid-2015.
Sterling was fractionally higher against the euro, with EUR/GBP easing 0.08% to 0.7952.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release data on retail sales, as well as closely watched preliminary data on consumer sentiment.