Sterling fell to a two-week low against the euro today after a survey of British consumers showing a gloomy view of the economy’s prospects next year kept it on the defensive against the single currency.
It was sterling’s fourth consecutive daily fall against the euro, its longest losing streak since August, as it got caught in the slipstream of the single currency’s recovery from a 14-year low against the greenback this week.
Weakness against the euro also kept the pound anchored near a one-month low against the dollar in quiet trading ahead of the Christmas holiday period.
Expectations for the year to come are now the weakest since just after June’s vote to leave the European Union, and before that they were last lower in April 2013, when the economy had suffered a period of sluggish growth.
Sterling has for the past six months been less sensitive than usual to economic data, driven more by concerns over Britain’s departure from the EU. Any signs that a hard Brexit, in which Britain loses access to the single market, is on the cards have tended to drive down the currency, with signs to the contrary giving it a boost.