Sterling sinks to 37-year low against dollar and drops further versus euro

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Sterling Sinks To 37-Year Low Against Dollar And Drops Further Versus Euro
Sterling fell against both the dollar and the euro. Photo: Tolga Akmen/AFP via Getty
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By August Graham, PA Business Reporter

The pound has hit a new 37-year low against the dollar as new official retail figures painted a bleak picture of the UK’s economy.

Sterling dropped below $1.14 for a couple of hours on Wednesday morning, pushing it below recent lows and taking it to its worst point since 1985.

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The drop came after newly released UK retail figures showed a drop of 1.6 per cent in August, compared to the 0.5 per cent fall economists predicted.

“This morning’s retail sales in the UK continued to show a deteriorating consumption picture in the UK, which emerged more from the continuation of a steady downtrend from last summer rather than the single grim data point in a rather volatile series,” said Francesco Pesole, a currency expert at ING.

“This has been the last important piece of data before the Bank of England meeting on Thursday and has hit the pound this morning.”

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The pound regained some ground in the early afternoon but was still trading down around 0.5 per cent against the dollar, buying a little over €1.14. It lost 0.3 per cent against the euro, also trading at a little over €1.14.

Sterling has been weak against the dollar for months, largely because of the strength of the US currency.

The euro has also been at multi-decade lows against the dollar.

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