Sterling touches 7-month trough against dollar

Sterling fell in American trade to November 16 lows versus dollar, following earlier data from the US and amid a lack thereof from Britain. 

As of 04:24 GMT, GBP/USD fell 0.59% to 1.3167 from the opening of 1.3245, with a seven-month low at 1.3151, and a session-high at 1.3273. 

Earlier today, the UK House of Lords passed a bill by a 354-245 margin that gives Parliament the right to hamper a final Brexit deal, which is still under negotiations between Britain and the EU, with the House of Commons scheduled to vote tomorrow on the issue, while the a government spokesperson criticized the Lords' decision as harmful to the government's efforts to reach the best possible Brexit deal. 

US Housing Data 

Earlier US data showed building permits fell to an annualized 1.30 million units in May from April's 1.36 million, revised from 1.35 million, and missing forecasts of 1.35 million. 

US housing starts rose to an annualized 1.35 million units in May from 1.29 million, beating forecasts of 1.31 million, as markets now await Federal Chair Jerome Powell's speech at the ECB Forum on Central Banking, in Portugal.