Investing.com - The pound fell against a firming dollar Friday after data revealed demand for long-lasting goods and appliance was on the rise in the U.S. last month.
In U.S. trading on Friday, GBP/USD was trading down 0.09% at 1.6970 up from a session low of 1.6962 and off a high of 1.6998.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.6952, the low from June 25, and resistance at 1.7095, Wednesday's high.
The Census Bureau reported earlier that U.S. durable goods orders rose 0.7% in June, beating expectations for a 0.5% gain, after declining of 1% in May, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated 0.9% contraction.
Core durable goods orders, which are stripped of transportation items, grew 0.8% in June, beating expectations for a 0.6% gain, after a 0.1% downtick in May, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated flat reading.
The data came a day after the U.S. Department of Labor reported that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending July 19 declined by 19,000 to 284,000, defying market forecasts for claims to rise by 5,000.
The data primed market expectations for the Federal Reserve to wind down its bond-buying stimulus program around October and raise interest rates in 2015.
Meanwhile in the U.K., preliminary data revealed that the gross domestic product rose 0.8% in the second quarter, in line with market expectations, which gave the pound some support.
On Thursday, the pound softened the Office for National Statistics reported that U.K. retail increased by 3.6% compared with June 2013 and by 0.1% compared with May 2014.
Markets were expecting a 3.9% yearly gain and a 0.3% monthly increase.
Elsewhere, sterling was up against the euro, with EUR/GBP down 0.15% at 0.7914, and down against the yen, with GBP/JPY down 0.10% at 172.77.
The euro softened after the Ifo Institute for Economic Research reported that its German business climate index fell to a nine-month low of 108.0 this month, down from 109.7 in June. Analysts had expected the index to tick down to 109.4 in July.
A separate report showed that the Gfk German consumer climate index rose to a seven-and-a-half-year high of 9.0 this month, up from a reading of 8.9 in June. Analysts had expected the index to remain unchanged in July.