Investing.com - The pound was steady near seven-week highs against the dollar on Thursday, a day after the Bank of England announced plans to keep interest rates at record lows as long as the U.K. unemployment rates remains above 7%. GBP/USD hit 1.5519 during European morning trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5497, inching up 0.05%. Cable was likely to find support at 1.5460 and near-term resistance at 1.5530, Wednesday’s high and a seven-week high. Speaking Wednesday, BoE Governor Mark Carney outlined plans to keep interest rates on hold at 0.5% until the U.K. unemployment rate falls to a threshold of 7% from its current level of 7.8%, something he added is unlikely to occur for another three years. The BoE said the unemployment threshold could be set aside if low bank rates begin to threaten financial stability or if medium term inflation forecasts rise above 2.5%. Carney said that while an economic recovery was "taking hold" in the U.K growth was likely to be "weak by historical standards." The dollar remained under pressure after two senior Federal Reserve officials said Tuesday that they would not rule out the withdrawal of stimulus measures at the bank’s September meeting. Sterling was little changed against the euro, with EUR/GBP inching up 0.06% to 0.8516. Earlier Thursday, German trade data for June showed that exports were up 0.6% from the previous month, but imports fell 0.8% from May, sparking concerns over weakening domestic demand. The U.S. was to release official data on initial jobless claims later in the trading day.

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