The pound was lower vs a broadly stronger greenback on Friday, still
hovering close to the previous session's one-and-a-half month trough, despite the data showing that the United Kingdom's economy expanded in line with expectations in the
second quarter.
GBP/USD was last at 1.5387 during European trade, lower 0.10%.
Earlier, the Office for National Statistics said the U.K. gross domestic product rose 0.7% in the second quarter, in line with expectations and unchanged from a preliminary estimate.
On a yearly basis, the U.K. economy grew at a rate of 2.6% in the last quarter, in line with market expectations.
Net trade boosted GDP by one percentage point in the second quarter - the biggest contribution from trade in four years - as exports jumped. Analysts have said the boost to trade might be temporary, as strong sterling is making British goods more expensive abroad, while turmoil in Chinese financial markets has intensified uncertainty about the global outlook.
Business investment rose 2.9% compared with the first three months of 2015 - the highest figure in a year.
Samuel Tombs, senior UK economist at Capital Economics, said the figure "put paid to the idea that uncertainty about the general election would weigh on capital expenditure".
Household spending increased by 0.7%, but was lower than the 0.9% rise in the first quarter.
Weak inflation, low interest rates and a strong pound have helped to keep consumer sentiment buoyant.
Last year, the
UK economy expanded by 3%, its best result since 2006. The
Bank of England expects the same momentum to be maintained this year,
forecasting 2.8% growth, says BBC News.
