Pound, at 1-month lows vs dollar after weak UK house data; Bank of England's statement expected

On Thursday the British currency dropped to one-month lows against its US peer, as downbeat U.K. house price data weighed and as markets eyed the Bank of England's upcoming monetary policy statement due later in the day.

GBP/USD hit 1.5225 during European morning trade, the pair's lowest since February 12; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5241, edging down 0.16%. The pair was likely to find support at 1.5161, the low of February 5 and resistance at 1.5372, Wednesday's high.

Released earlier in the day, industry data indicated that U.K. house prices dipped by 0.3% last month, worse than expectations for a 0.2% drop. U.K. house prices increased 1.9% in January, downwardly revised from a previously reported gain of 2.0%.

Britain's house prices in the three months to February were 8.3% higher than in the same three months a year earlier, below predictions for a gain of 8.5% gain and down from an increase of 8.5% in January.

The BoE was expected to leave its benchmark interest rate on hold at 0.5% and its asset purchase facility program at £375 billion.

In the meantime, the greenback was backed after data on Wednesday showed that U.S. service sector activity grew at a faster rate than expected in February, boosting expectations for higher interest rates.

A separate report showed that the U.S. private sector added 212,000 jobs in February, falling short of expectations for an increase of 220,000.

The British currency was higher against the euro, with EUR/GBP shedding 0.21% to 0.7243.

Market players expect the U.S. to issue the weekly report on initial jobless claims and data on factory orders later in the day.