Tuesday 12 January 2016

Forex - Sterling hits fresh 5-year lows after weak U.K. data

The pound fell to fresh five-year lows against the dollar on Tuesday after data showing that U.K. industrial and manufacturing production dropped sharply in November, adding to concerns over the uneven economic recovery.GBP/USD hit lows of 1.4484, the weakest level since June 2010, down from around 1.4527 ahead of the data.The Office for National Statistics said industrial production fell 0.7% in November from the previous month, compared with forecasts for a flat reading. It was the biggest drop since January 2013.Manufacturing production fell 0.4% compared with October, well below forecasts for a 0.1% increase.On a year-over-year basis, manufacturing production contracted by 1.2%, its fourth consecutive month of contraction. Economists had forecast a more modest decline of 0.8%.The weak data indicates that businesses in the U.K. are suffering from weaker overseas demand, partly due to a slowdown in China and the impact of the stronger pound.Sterling remained under heavy selling pressure amid concerns that the Bank of England will signal that rates are likely to remain on hold for longer after its policy meeting on Thursday.The pound was lower against the euro, with EUR/GBP rising to 0.39% to 0.7494 from 0.7479 earlier

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