Sterling sets seven-week low

Sterling fell on Wednesday for the third session in a row to a seven-week trough amid growing pressure from dollar's strength and upbeat U.S. jobs data, adding to the British budget report and growth forecasts.
 
GBP/USD last traded at 1.2156, down from the opening of 1.2202, with a session-high at 1.2214, and a low at 1.2139.
 
Sterling's current drop comes as the dollar keeps rising against a basket of currencies following upbeat U.S. private sector jobs data for February, which blasted past expectations and bolstered the case for a Fed rate hike next week.
 
Britain's finance minister Philip Hammond authorized the budget for the financial year 2017, revising the growth forecast upwards for the year while pointing to possible slowdowns in the next years due to Britain's exit from the European Union and its impact on the economy.
 
The ministry expects the economy to register a 2% growth in 2017, more than expectations of 1.4%, while forecasts for 2018, 2019, 2020 fell compared to previous forecasts.