Forex - GBP/USD little changed as U.S. data eyed

The pound was almost unchanged against the dollar on Thursday, following solid U.K. retail sales data for June as investors awaited U.S. economic data and a second day of testimony by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke later in the session.

GBP/USD hit 1.5242 during European afternoon trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5209, dipping 0.01%.

Cable was likely to find support at 1.5077, Wednesday’s low and resistance at 1.5266, Wednesday’s high.

The pound rose to session highs earlier after the Office for National Statistics said U.K. retail sales rose 0.2% in June, in line with expectations.

Retail sales were 2.2% higher compared to the same month last year, above expectations for a 1.7% gain.

Core retail sales, which exclude automobile sales, rose 0.2% in June, in line with forecasts, after increasing 2.1% in May.

Demand for the dollar continued to be underpinned by expectations that the Fed will start to unwind its bond buying later this year following comments by Chairman Ben Bernanke on Wednesday.

In the first day of his semi-annual testimony to Congress Bernanke said the central bank could scale back its asset purchases by the end of the year if the economy continues to improve, but added that there was no “preset course.”

Bernanke said the economic recovery was continuing at a moderate pace but reiterated that monetary policy will remain accommodative for the foreseeable future.

Sterling was higher against the euro, with EUR/GBP down 0.18% to 0.8610.

The U.S. was to release the weekly government report on initial jobless claims and data on the Philly Fed manufacturing index later in the trading day.