Forex- Pound lower against broadly stronger U.S. dollar

Investing.com - The pound was lower against the broadly stronger U.S. dollar on Thursday, as market sentiment remained clouded by concerns over the global economic recovery, following weak euro zone and U.S. economic data on Wednesday.

GBP/USD hit 1.6172 during European morning trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.6179, slipping 0.11%.

Cable was likely to find support at 1.6108, the low of April 24 and resistance at 1.6238, Wednesday’s high.

Market sentiment remained subdued as investors awaited the outcome of the European Central Bank’s policy-setting meeting later in the day, after data on Wednesday showed that euro zone manufacturing activity slumped to a 34-month low in April, while the unemployment rate in the bloc climbed to a record 10.7% in March.

In the U.S., data on Wednesday showed that the private sector added 119,000 jobs in April, far short of expectations for a gain of 177,000. It was the smallest increase in ADP nonfarm payrolls since September 2011.

The data added to fears that the economic recovery in the U.S. is losing momentum, ahead of a government report on nonfarm payrolls on Friday, after government data in March showed a slowdown in hiring.

Earlier Thursday, industry data showed that U.K. house prices fell unexpectedly in April.

Mortgage lender Nationwide said house prices dropped by a seasonally adjusted 0.2% last month, following March’s steep 1% drop and were 0.9% lower year-on-year. Analysts had expected house prices to rise by 0.5% last month.

The pound was slightly lower against the euro, with EUR/GBP rising 0.10% to hit 0.8130.

Later in the day, the U.K. was to release data on service sector growth, while the U.S. was to produce government data on unemployment claims, as well as preliminary data on nonfarm productivity and unit labor costs. In addition, the Institute of Supply Management was to produce a report on U.S. service sector growth.