The pound was little changed against the dollar and euro before a report that economists said will show British banks approved fewer loans for homes in February. Sterling was about 0.5 percent from its strongest level in six weeks against the 17-nation common currency. Lenders granted 53,700 mortgages, down from 54,700 in January, the Bank of England will say today, according to the median estimate of 21 analysts in a Bloomberg News survey. A gauge of manufacturing stayed below the 50 level that marks expansion, another survey showed before today’s release. The pound traded at 84.49 pence per euro at 7:55 a.m. London time, after appreciating to 84.11 pence yesterday, the strongest level since Jan. 24. Sterling was at $1.5216. The pound has declined 4.6 percent this year, according to Bloomberg Correlation-Weighted Indexes, which track 10 developed-nation currencies. The euro fell 0.2 percent and the dollar gained 2.7 percent. Gilts returned 0.7 percent this year, according to indexes compiled by Bloomberg and the European Federation of Financial Analysts Societies. German bunds gained 0.4 percent and Treasuries were little changed. 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

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