Investing.com - The pound held steady against the U.S. dollar on Friday, trading near five-and-a-half week lows after data showed that public sector net borrowing in the U.K. rose less-than-expected last month, while investors eyed comments by Federal Reserve officials later in the day.
GBP/USD hit 1.6476 during European morning trade, the pair's lowest since February 12; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.6504, easing 0.01%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.6426, the low of February 12 and resistance at 1.6654, the high of March 19.
Investors shrugged off data showing that U.K. public sector net borrowing rose by £7.5 billion in February, compared to expectations for an increase of £8.6 billion, after a £6.4 billion decline the previous month.
Markets were eyeing comments by a number of Fed officials later Friday, after Fed Chair Janet Yellen surprised markets mid-week by suggesting the possibility of raising interest rates as soon as next year.
Meanwhile, the greenback remained supported after data on Thursday showed that U.S. initial jobless claims rose less-then-expected last week, while a separate report showed that manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia-region expanded at a faster rate than expected in March.
The euro was higher against the pound, with EUR/GBP adding 0.12% to 0.8359.
In the euro zone, data showed that the current account surplus widened to €25.3 billion in January, from €20.0 billion in December, whose figure was revised down from a previously estimated surplus of €21.3 billion.
Analysts had expected the current account surplus to narrow to €18.4 billion in January.