Forex - GBP/USD gains on soft U.S. jobs report, U.K. data weigh

The pound moved higher against the dollar on Friday as investors ditched the greenback after a disappointing U.S. August jobs report doused expectations for the Federal Reserve to begin tapering stimulus programs this month.

Stimulus programs such as the Fed's USD85 million in monthly asset purchases weaken the dollar to spur recovery, and talk of their staying in place — often the product of disappointing U.S. data — can soften the greenback.

In U.S. trading on Friday, GBP/USD was trading at 1.5627, up 0.24%, up from a session low of 1.5565 and off from a high of 1.5681.

Cable was likely to find support at 1.5565, the earlier low, and resistance at 1.5681, the earlier high.

The U.S. economy added 169,000 jobs in August, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, less than market calls for a 180,000 increase.

July 's figure was revised down to 104,000 from 162,000, while June's figure was revised down to 172,000 from 188,000.

The private sector added 152,000 jobs in August, well beneath expectations for a 180,000 rise. 

The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 7.3% in August from 7.4% in July, as more people left the workforce. Analysts were expecting the unemployment rate to remain unchanged last month.

The jobs report served as the pair's chief steering current throughout the session, as investors shrugged off sluggish data out of the U.K.

Official data released earlier revealed that U.K. manufacturing production rose 0.2% in July,  missing expectations for a 0.3% rise after an upwardly revised 2% increase the previous month. 

A separate report showed that the U.K. trade deficit widened to GBP9.85 billion in July, from a downwardly revised GBP8.17 billion deficit the previous month. Analysts had expected the trade deficit to narrow to GBP8.15 billion in July.

The pound, meanwhile, was down against the euro and down against the yen, with EUR/GBP up 0.08% at 0.8423 and GBP/JPY down 0.66% at 155.04.