Investing.com - The pound was almost unchanged against the dollar on Wednesday after data confirmed that the rate of fourth quarter economic growth in the U.K. was unrevised at 0.7%, but the annual rate of growth was revised slightly lower.
GBP/USD hit highs of 1.6701 earlier in the session, and was last up 0.01% to 1.6682.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.6610, the low of February 21 and resistance at 1.6740, the high of February 18.
The Office for National Statistics said U.K. gross domestic product increased by 0.7% in the three-month to December, unrevised from the preliminary estimate and in line with forecasts.
On a year-over-year basis, the U.K. economy expanded by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, down slightly from the preliminary estimate for 2.8% growth.
The largest contributors to fourth quarter growth were household spending, business investment and net trade, the ONS said. Business investments were revised up 8.5% from the same period a year earlier.
The pound’s gains were held in check after two members of the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee reiterated Wednesday that the bank is planning to keep rates on hold for some time.
David Miles said recent falls in inflation meant there was less pressure to raise borrowing costs, while the bank’s chief economist Spenser Dale said it was not planning to raise rates any time soon.
Sterling pushed higher against the euro, with EUR/GBP sliding 0.10% to 0.8230.
Overall market sentiment remained subdued following a disappointing reading on U.S. consumer sentiment on Tuesday, which fuelled concerns over the strength of the economic recovery.
Recent weak U.S. economic indicators have raised doubts over whether the Federal Reserve will maintain the current pace of reductions to its stimulus program.
The U.S. was to release data on new home sales later in the trading day.