More Bad Macroeconomic Data from UK, Pound Hurt

The British pound fell against the euro and the Japanese yen today, after economic data showed that industrial production slowed in July and house prices fell last month. Both results came as an unpleasant surprise to market participants.

Halifax index of home prices fell 1.2 percent in August on a monthly basis. The decline after three consecutive months of increases and traders had expected last month the rate would also increase. Industrial production, according to the government report, fell 0.2 percent in July compared to June. Economists predicted no change. The data reinforced expectations of further stimulus by depressing the central bank.


GBP/JPY fell from 123.72 to 123.24 today as of 10:23 GMT. At the same time, EUR/GBP traded at 0.8787 after jumping from 0.8779 to 0.8828, the highest level since September 1.