Investing.com - The pound fell against the U.S. dollar on Friday, after the release of disappointing U.K. manufacturing production data, while investors awaited a key report on U.S. employment due later in the day.
GBP/USD hit 1.2430 during European morning trade, the pair’s lowest since Wednesday; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.2432, shedding 0.29%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.2401, the low of March 30 and resistance at 1.2508, Thursday’s high.
The U.K. Office for National Statistics said manufacturing production fell 0.1% in February, compared to expectations for a gain of 0.2% and following a decline of 1.0% in the previous month.
On an annualized basis, manufacturing production increased by 3.3% in February, below forecasts for a 3.9% advance.
The report also showed that industrial production fell 0.7% in February, compared to forecasts for a 0.2% increase.
Meanwhile, market participants were looking ahead to the U.S. nonfarm payrolls report, due later Friday, a day after the release of upbeat jobless claims data.
Separately, markets were jittery after the U.S. launched cruise missiles at an airbase in Syria, sparking concerns of an escalation in the Syrian civil war.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he ordered missile strikes against a Syrian airfield from which a deadly chemical weapons attack was launched.
The air strike came during a two-day summit between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping which, on Thursday, had a strong focus on trade and North Korea's military program.
Trump had warned that he would be ready to act unilaterally to address North Korea's nuclear program if China does not step up to help in the matter.
Sterling was lower against the euro, with EUR/GBP rising 0.21% to 0.8555.