The pound weakened against the dollar after a report showed consumer sentiment declined in July, fueling speculation the Bank of England will delay raising interest rates. Sterling fell for a third day against the yen and was little changed versus the euro. An index of sentiment slipped five points from June to minus 30, GfK NOP Ltd., a London-based research group said today. Bank of England policy maker David Miles said this that week attempts to slow inflation too quickly risk stalling the recovery. The pound fell 0.3 percent to $1.6318 as of 7:36 a.m. in London. It was 0.5 percent weaker at 126.52 yen, and gained less than 0.1 percent to 87.46 pence per euro after reaching 87.36 pence yesterday, the strongest since July 18. Sterling has fallen 7.8 percent in the last 12 months, making it the second-worst performer among 10 developed-market currencies after the U.S. dollar, according to Bloomberg Correlation-Weighted Currency Indexes. The average cost of a U.K. home unexpectedly increased 0.2 percent this month, after being stagnant in June, Nationwide Building Society said. Economists had forecast a 0.2 percent decline. To contact the reporter on this story: Lukanyo Mnyanda in London at lmnyanda@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Daniel Tilles at dtilles@bloomberg.net

Source