The pound declined against the euro after the Confederation of British Industry said the U.K. economy will expand at a slower pace than previously forecast this year and next.
Sterling snapped a two-day decline versus the dollar. Gross domestic product will rise by 1.7 percent in 2011 compared with a February prediction of 1.8 percent, Britain’s biggest employers’ group said in quarterly forecasts released today. Growth next year will be 2.2 percent instead of 2.3 percent, it said.
The pound weakened 0.6 percent to 87.98 pence per euro as of 7:29 a.m. in London. It was 0.1 percent stronger at $1.6384 and little changed at 132.06 yen.
To contact the reporter on this story: Matthew Brown in London at mbrown42@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Daniel Tilles at dtilles@bloomberg.net
