Forex - Pound hits 3-week lows against broadly stronger dollar

The pound dropped to three-week lows against the U.S. dollar on Friday, as U.S. economic reports sent the greenback broadly higher, while concerns over the outlook for growth in the U.K. persisted. 

GBP/USD hit 1.5188 during U.S. morning trade, the pair's lowest since May 31; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5190, shedding 0.45%. 

Cable was likely to find support at 1.5140, the low of May 31 and resistance at 1.5279, the session high. 

In a revised report, the University of Michigan said that its consumer sentiment index rose to 84.1 in June, from a reading of 82.7 the previous month, beating expectations for a rise to 82.8. 

The data came after a report showed that the Chicago purchasing managers' index fell to 51.6 this month, from 58.7 in May, exceeding expectations for a decline to 56.0 but still remaining in expansion territory. 

The greenback also gained ground after a Federal Reserve official highlighted the central bank's upcoming September policy meeting as a possible time when it may need to consider paring back its quantitative easing program. 

In the U.K., the Gfk consumer confidence index improved to minus 21 in June, from a reading of minus 22 the previous month, in line with expectations. 

A separate report showed that house price inflation rose 0.3% this month, as expected, after a 0.4% rise in May. 

The data came a day after the Office of National Statistics said U.K. gross domestic product expanded at an annual rate of 0.3% in the three months to March, down from a preliminary estimate of 0.6% growth. 

Sterling was lower against the euro with EUR/GBP rising 0.25%, to hit 0.8567. 

Also Friday, official data showed that German retail sales rose 0.8% in May, beating expectations for a 0.2% gain, after a 0.1% fall the previous month. 

In France, official data showed that consumer spending rose 0.5% in May, confounding expectations for a 0.1% fall, after a 0.5% decline the previous month.