Investing.com - The pound slipped lower against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday, after U.K. third quarter economic growth data came out in line with market expectations, as investors eyed a flurry of U.S. economic reports to be released later in the day.
GBP/USD hit 1.5694 during European morning trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5690, easing 0.11%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5588, the low of November 19 and resistance at 1.5782, the high of November 13.
In a report, the Office for National Statistics said U.K. gross domestic product expanded by 0.7% in the third quarter, unchanged from an initial estimate and in line with expectations. The U.K.’s economy grew by 0.9% in the previous quarter.
The U.K. economy grew at an annualized rate of 3.0% in the third quarter, unchanged from a preliminary reading, after expanding at an annualized rate of 3.2% in the three months to June.
The greenback had slightly weakened on Tuesday after the Conference Board reported that its consumer confidence index fell to a five month low in November, one month after touching its highest level in seven years, as optimism over the short term outlook waned.
A separate report showed that U.S. house prices rose more than expected on a year-over-year basis September, but were unchanged on a monthly basis.
But the U.S. dollar still found some support as the Commerce Department reported that the U.S. economy posted growth of 3.9% in the three months to September, far higher than the initial estimate of 3.5%. Economists had forecast a small downward revision to 3.3%.
Sterling was lower against the euro, with EUR/GBP edging up 0.10% to 0.7950.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release a flurry of data ahead of Thursday’s holiday, including reports on durable goods orders, unemployment claims, personal income and spending, as well as reports on new and pending home sales and revised data on consumer sentiment.