The pound trimmed gains against the greenback Thursday after downbeat data from the U.K. The country's industrial production unexpectedly fell in June as North Sea producers cut output for the first time in three months.
GBP/USD pulled away from 1.5637, the session high, to hit 1.5603 during European morning trade.
The U.K. Office for National Statistics reported on Thursday that manufacturing production increased by 0.2% in June, matching expectations and following a decline of 0.6% in May.
On an annualized basis, manufacturing production rose at rate of 0.5%, beating estimates for a gain of 0.4%, after rising at a rate of 1.0% in May.
The report also showed that U.K. industrial production fell by 0.4% in June, disappointing expectations for a gain of 0.1%, after increasing 0.3% in the preceding month.
Purchasing managers indexes published this week signaled that manufacturing remains “near stagnant‘‘ while services slid
slightly last month.
The country's economy expanded at a 0.6 percent quarterly rate in July, compared with 0.7 percent growth in the second quarter, said Markit Economics.
Later in the day, the Bank of England was expected to leave its benchmark interest rate on hold at 0.50% and its asset purchase facility program at £375 billion.
