Investing.com - The pound edged higher against the U.S. dollar on Friday, after the release of upbeat construction activity data from the U.K. and as sentiment on the greenback remained fragile ahead of a key U.S. employment report due later in the day.
GBP/USD hit 1.2649 during European morning trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.2603, up 0.08%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.2416, Wednesday’s low and resistance at 1.2697, Thursday’s high and a two-month high.
Research group Markit reported on Friday that its U.K. construction purchasing managers’ index rose to a seven-month high of 52.8 this month from 52.6 in October, confounding expectations for a downtick to 52.2.
The pound had strengthened broadly on Thursday after British Brexit Minister David Davis indicated on Thursday that London would consider paying for access to European markets after Brexit.
Meanwhile, the greenback remained slightly weaker as market participants looked ahead to the upcoming U.S. nonfarm payrolls report for further indications on the strength of the job market.
The greenback had rallied on Wednesday after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries reached an agreement on an oil output cut aimed at tackling global oversupply and shoring up prices.
Expectations for higher oil prices added to U.S. inflation expectations, which have already been boosted by prospects for increased fiscal spending under the Trump administration.
Sterling was also higher against the euro, with EUR/GBP slipping 0.19% to 0.8454.