Investing.com - The pound dropped to fresh one-and-a half month lows against the U.S. dollar on Friday, after the release of disappointing U.K. manufacturing activity data and as investors remained cautious ahead of a highly anticipated U.S. jobs report.
GBP/USD hit 1.6840 during European morning trade, the pair's lowest since June 12; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.6850, shedding 0.21%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.6790, the low of June 12 and resistance at 1.6927, Thursday's high.
Markit research group said the U.K. manufacturing purchasing managers' index fell to 55.4 last month, from a reading of 57.5 in June. Analysts had expected the index to slip to 57.2 in July.
Meanwhile, demand for the dollar remained supported after the Labor Department on Thursday reported that the U.S. employment cost index rose by 0.7% in the seconf quarter, progressing at the fastest rate since September 2008, after a 0.3% increase in the first quarter.
The report came a day after official data showed that the U.S. economy rebounded more strongly than expected in the second quarter, fuelling speculation over the timing of a possible U.S. rate hike.
Sterling was lower against the euro, with EUR/GBP adding 0.16% to 0.7943.
Also Friday, Markit said Germany's manufacturing PMI fell to 52.4 last month from 52.9 in June. Analysts had expected the index to remain unchanged.
For the entire euro zone, Markit said the manufacturing PMI ticked down to 51.8 in July, from a reading of 51.9 the previous month. Analysts had also expected the index to remain unchanged.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release closely watched government data on nonfarm payrolls and the unemployment rate, while the Institute of Supply Management was to release data on manufacturing activity.