Traders said investors were booking profits on recent gains in stocks and commodities while mounting uncertainty over Greece's progress in completing a debt swap deal supported the pound against the euro. A survey by mortgage lender Halifax showed house prices dipped 0.5 percent in February, compared to forecasts of a 0.3 percent rise, added to the broader weakness. Some traders expected sterling to ease towards $1.57 in the coming days if risk appetite continues to sour. "Cable's attempts to rise above the $1.60 level have failed and we could it see drift lower," said Michael Derks, chief strategist at FXPro. "There is profit-taking in the riskier assets which have had a good run in the past two months and that is weighing on cable." Sterling, which often moves in tandem with stocks, was down 0.6 percent at $1.5757, having fallen to past stop-loss orders at $1.5750 to $1.5748 - its weakest since Feb. 24. The losses were, however, much less than those of the higher-yielding Australian and New Zealand dollars . Traders cited support near its Feb. 24 low of $1.5721 with more near its 100-day moving average of $1.5711. Offers are seen between $1.5880 and $1.5900, coinciding with the 200-day moving average, a closely watched technical indicator, around $1.5890, traders said. GREEK WORRIES There was general wariness before a deadline on Thursday for Greece to complete a bond exchange with private creditors. If Greece fails to complete a deal it would threaten the recently agreed 130 billion euro bailout deal and risk a chaotic default, weakening higher-risk assets. The Institute of International Finance, which helped to negotiate the bond swap deal on behalf of creditors, said a disorderly default in Greece would probably leave Italy and Spain needing outside help to stop risks spreading, and cause more than 1 trillion euros damage to the euro zone. The UK has strong trade and financial ties with the euro zone, and domestic banks have a sizeable exposure to debt issued by peripheral countries. As such, strategists in Morgan Stanley expect cable to test trendline support at $1.5765 and have lowered the stops on the topside at $1.5905 for a targeted drop to $1.5200. Still, any ructions in the euro zone would hurt the common currency more than sterling and lead to inflows into UK gilts by investors seeking safe-haven assets. Moreover, an improvement in some recent UK data has offered support for the pound against the euro, as it has dampened the prospect of further monetary easing by the Bank of England. In contrast, the euro zone is still on the brink of a recession, with money markets still pointing to an outside chance of another cut in European Central Bank interest rates this year. The euro was steady against the pound at 83.28 pence, not far from a 2-1/2-week low of 83.13 pence hit on Friday, and well below a high of 85.06 pence hit on Feb. 24. The single currency has chart support around 83.00 pence from a trendline drawn from this year's low, but a break below there would target the January low of 82.22 pence. "Another bout of euro zone tension would increase the risk of more QE but this would place more pressure on the euro," said Jane Foley, senior strategist at Rabobank. "We would currently view upticks in euro/sterling as selling opportunities."