The pound was higher against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday, after the
release of upbeat data on U.K. net lending to individuals.
GBP/USD was last at 1.5657, higher 0.25%.
Earlier, the Bank of England reported that total net lending to individuals rose by ₤3.8 billion last month, beating forecasts for ₤3.0 billion and up from ₤3.1 billion in April.
The data also indicated that the number of final mortgage approvals rose to 66,580 in June from 64,830 in May. Analysts had expected mortgage approvals to rise to 66,000 last month.
Meanwhile, investors expect fresh data from the U.S. Pending home sales for June are coming at 10 a.m. Eastern, with a Fed announcement due at 2 p.m.
Colin Cieszynski, chief market strategist at CMC Markets, said in a note
late Tuesday that a July rate liftoff is unlikely, but a September hike seems on its way to being priced into currency markets. Thus, any hints the statement will provide can have a significant impact on the currency trading.
