Investing.com - The pound edged higher against the U.S. dollar in subdued trade on Monday, after the release of disappointing U.S. home sales data, although sterling's gains were capped by sustained concerns over the U.K. economic outlook.
GBP/USD hit 1.5248 during U.S. morning trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5244, adding 0.10%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5098, the low of April 2 and resistance at 1.5311, Thursday’s high.
In a report, the National Association of Realtors said existing home sales fell 0.6% to a seasonally adjusted 4.92 million units in March from February’s revised total of 4.95 million.
February existing home sales were initially reported at 4.98 million units.
Analysts had expected U.S. existing home sales to rise 0.5% to 5.01 million units in March.
Meanwhile, the pound remained under pressure as concerns over a triple-dip recession and the prospect of more easing weighed by the Bank of England weighed.
Fitch’s ratings agency downgraded the U.K.’s triple-A rating by one notch to AA+ with a stable outlook on Friday, in the light of "the weak growth performance of the U.K. economy in recent years".
The downgrade came after the International Monetary Fund warned early last week that the British government should scale back its austerity program, given current weakness in the U.K. economy.
Sterling was higher against the euro, with EUR/GBP slipping 0.26% to 0.8547.
The euro remained fragile amid fears that weak purchasing managers’ index data on Tuesday could intensify speculation over a possible rate cut by the European Central Bank.
Earlier Monday, ECB Vice-President Vitor Constancio said a rate cut is always a possibility and is dependent on economic data.
