Investing.com - The pound edged higher against the U.S. dollar in quiet trade on Monday, but gains were expected to remain limited as investors locked in profits from the greenback's recent rally against other major currencies.
GBP/USD hit 1.5234 during European morning trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5177, adding 0.18%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5073, the low of January 16 and resistance at 1.5269, the high of January 15.
The dollar remained broadly supported after the Swiss National Bank abandoned its three-year old 1.20 per euro exchange rate cap in a shock move last Thursday.
In addition, the University of Michigan said, in a preliminary report on Friday, that its consumer sentiment index rose to a 11-year high of 98.2 this month from 93.6 in December, compared to expectations for a rise to 94.1.
The pound had come under pressure last week after data showed that the annual rate of consumer inflation in the U.K. slowed to 0.5% last month from 1.0% in November.
The slowdown in inflation underlined expectations that the Bank of England will keep interest rates on hold at record lows for most of this year.
Sterling was lower against the euro, with EUR/GBP gaining 0.35% to 0.7661.
Sentiment on the euro remained vulnerable amid mounting expectations that the European Central Bank will launch a government bond-buying program at its meeting on Thursday, in a bid to stave off the threat of deflation in the euro area.