The pound was 0.5 percent from an eight-month low against the dollar before minutes of the Bank of England’s September meeting reveal whether any other officials joined Adam Posen in calling for additional bond purchases. Sterling weakened against 13 of its 16 major counterparts after an industry report showed U.K. consumer confidence fell to a four-month low in August. The central bank kept its benchmark interest rate at a record low at its Sept. 7-8 policy meeting as the slowing economic recovery outweighed the prospect of rising prices. The minutes will be released at 9:30 a.m. in London. The pound fell 0.3 percent to $1.5697 at 8:01 a.m. in London. It declined to $1.5633 on Sept. 19, the lowest level since Jan. 12. It was little changed at 87.20 pence per euro. Sterling has depreciated 5.2 percent in the last 12 months, making it the second-worst performer among 10 developed-market currencies after the dollar, according to Bloomberg Correlation- Weighted Currency Indexes. An index of consumer sentiment slipped 1 point from the previous month to 48, Nationwide Building Society said today. A gauge of consumers’ future expectations for the economy in the next six months declined 1 point to 65. The Bank of England held its benchmark rate at 0.5 percent in September and maintained its bond-buying program, also known as quantitative easing, at 200 billion pounds. Posen on Sept. 13 called for the central bank to buy as much as 100 billion pounds of securities within three months to cap borrowing costs and said the delay in acting had made economic prospects “worse.” The Monetary Policy Committee voted 9-0 to leave interest rates unchanged in August, according to minutes of that’s month’s meeting released Aug. 17. Bank of England Chief Economist Spencer Dale speaks in South Shields, England at 12:35 p.m. today. To contact the reporter on this story: Emma Charlton in London at echarlton1@bloomberg.net. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Daniel Tilles at dtilles@bloomberg.net.

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