Investing.com - The pound held gains against the U.S. dollar on Friday, but sterling's upside was expected to remain limited as strong U.S. consumer sentiment data added further support for the greenback.
GBP/USD hit 1.6608 during U.S. morning trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.6604, up 0.11%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.6537, the low of August 27 and a five-month low and resistance at 1.6679, the high of August 20.
The University of Michigan said its consumer sentiment index was revised to 82.5 this month, up from a preliminary reading of 79.2, exceeding expectations for a reading of 80.1.
Data also showed that the Chicago purchasing managers' index rose to 64.3 in August, from a reading of 52.6 the previous month, beating expectations for an increase to 56.0.
Earlier in the day, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that U.S. personal spending fell 0.1% last month, confounding expectations for a 0.2% rise, after an increase of 0.4% in June.
The report also showed that U.S. personal income rose 0.2% in July, less than the expected 0.3% gain. The change in personal income for June was revised to a 0.5% increase from a previously estimated 0.4% rise.
In the U.K., the Nationwide Building Society said that house price inflation climbed 0.8% this month, exceeding expectations for a 0.1% gain. For July, the change in house price inflation was revised to a 0.2% increase from a previously estimated 0.1% rise.
Sterling was higher against the euro, with EUR/GBP easing 0.09% to 0.7940.
Also Friday, preliminary data showed that euro zone consumer price inflation ticked down to an annualized rate of 0.3% this month from 0.4% in July, in line with expectations.
Core CPI, which excludes food, energy, alcohol, and tobacco, rose to 0.9% in August compared to a year ealier, from 0.8% in July. Analysts had expected core CPI to remain unchanged this month.
A separate report showed that the euro zone's unemployment rate remained unchanged at 11.5% last month, in line with expectations.
In addition, official data showed that German retail sales declined 1.4% in July, disappointing expectations for a 0.1% rise, after a 1.0% gain in June, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated 1.3% advance.