Pound, euro weaken on data

Pound, euro weaken on data

Story link: Pound, euro weaken on data

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The pound and the euro were weaker Friday as new data indicated that the recession is deepening in Europe.

The pound continued to weaken after an unsuccessful bond auction in the UK on Wednesday as the fourth quarter gross domestic product was shown to be 1.6 percent lower in the 4th quarter from 3rd quarter levels, a slightly bigger decline than had been expected.

In addition, the Land Registry reported that house prices were down 2 percent in February from January’s levels and dropped 16.5 percent from the same month last year.

In the Eurozone, factory orders were reported down 34 percent in January from January 2008 and were 3.4 percent in January from the previous month.

The pound was worth $1.432 at around noon in New York, while it had risen to 92.9p to the euro and had gained back some losses to the yen, which traded at ¥140.555 to the pound.

The euro weakened after Eurozone factory orders were reported down 34 percent in January from January 2008 and were down 3.4 percent from December by the Luxembourg-based European Union office of statistics.

In midday trade in New York, the euro was worth $1.3303 while the yen traded at ¥130.5707 to the euro and at ¥98.15 to the greenback.