Forexpros - The pound was steady close to a three-month high against the broadly weaker U.S. dollar on Thursday, after the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s August meeting indicated that the bank may be close to implementing a third round of easing measures. GBP/USD hit 1.5913 during European morning trade, the pair’s highest since May 17; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5886, inching up 0.03%. Cable was likely to find support at 1.5764, Wednesday’s low and resistance at 1.5931, the high of May 17. The Fed minutes showed that many policymakers think additional easing may be warranted "fairly soon" unless there is evidence of a "substantial and sustainable" strengthening in the economic recovery. But the pound’s gains were limited after data from China showed that manufacturing activity slumped to a nine-month low in August, adding to concerns over a slowdown in the world’s second largest economy. In the euro zone, data showed that manufacturing activity improved in August, but remained in contraction territory for the 12th consecutive month, while service sector activity slumped to a two-month low. The pound was slightly lower against the euro, with EUR/GBP easing up 0.10% to 0.7879. The pound showed little reaction to a report showing that U.K. mortgage approvals rose more-than-expected in July. The British Banker's Association said that the number of new mortgages approved last month rose to 28.4K from 25.9K in June, compared to expectations for an increase to 28.2K.

Source