The sterling barely budged versus most other majors currencies Wednesday morning in New York as traders digested a slew of economic data from the UK.
Earlier today, the minutes of the latest rate-setting session of Bank of England showed that seven members of the Monetary Policy Committee voted to hold interest rate at 5%, while two members voted against. The MPC split three ways for the second straight session.
The sterling was range-bound versus the dollar for a fourth straight session, moving between 1.8550 and 1.8650 in early dealing. The pound has stabilized since hitting a 2-year low of 1.8511 a week ago.
Industry data released on Wednesday showed that mortgage application volume declined last week, due in part to a 3.7 percent decline in refinancing activity. Purchase activity for the week also ticked down.
Against the euro, the sterling was little changed from the previous session, inching higher in early dealing before steeling back to .7920.
Eurozone construction output decreased 2.4% year-on-year in June, faster than a downwardly revised 1.6% fall recorded in May, the Eurostat reported Wednesday. Construction output fell for the fourth straight month.
The sterling continued to move roughly sideways versus the yen, holding near 204.50. The pound has been stable since hitting a 3-month low of 202.50 last week.
UK's gross mortgage lending increased 5% in July from the previous month, the Council of Mortgage Lenders, or CML reported Wednesday. Gross mortgage lending totaled GBP24.8 billion in July, down 27% on a yearly basis.
A preliminary report from the Bank of England showed that M4 money supply increased at a slower pace of 0.9% month-on-month in July, compared with 1.8% growth recorded in June. Economists had expected a monthly growth of 0.5%.
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