BLBG:Pound Is Little Changed Versus Dollar as U.K. House Prices Slide
The pound was little changed against the dollar after rising to the strongest level in more than two months as a report showed house prices in England and Wales declined in December.
Sterling snapped a four-day drop versus the euro. House values fell 3.3 percent, Rightmove Plc said in a report. Data tomorrow will show consumer prices rose 2.7 percent last month from a year earlier, matching the October reading, according to the median prediction of 34 economists in a Bloomberg survey.
The pound traded at $1.6191 at 7:47 a.m. London time, after rising to $1.62, the strongest since Oct. 5. Sterling appreciated 0.1 percent to 81.29 pence per euro.
The pound has gained 1.5 percent this year, according to Bloomberg Correlation-Weighted Indexes, which track 10 developed-market currencies. The euro declined 1.3 percent and the dollar fell 3 percent.
U.K. gilts handed investors a loss of 1 percent this month through Dec. 14, according to indexes compiled by Bloomberg and the European Federation of Financial Analysts Societies. German bonds gained 0.4 percent and Treasuries declined 0.3 percent.
To contact the reporter on this story: Lukanyo Mnyanda in Edinburgh at lmnyanda@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Paul Dobson at pdobson2@bloomberg.net
