The pound headed for a fourth weekly decline against the dollar before a report that economists said will show the U.K. budget deficit narrowed last month. Britain’s currency was also poised for a weekly loss versus the euro. The budget shortfall shrank to 13.5 billion pounds ($21.7 billion) in September, compared with 14.4 billion pounds a month earlier, according to the median forecast of 21 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Gilts are also set for a weekly drop, with 10-year yields rising to 1.96 percent yesterday, the highest level in a month. The pound was little changed at $1.6041 at 7:38 a.m. London time, having dropped 0.2 percent this week. The U.K. currency traded at 81.45 pence per euro, set for a 1.1 percent decline since Oct. 13. The pound has weakened 1.4 percent in the past three months, according to Bloomberg Correlation-Weighted Indexes, which track 10 developed-market currencies. The euro gained 3.3 percent and the dollar dropped 3.6 percent. Gilts returned 1.8 percent this year through yesterday, according to indexes compiled by Bloomberg and the European Federation of Financial Analysts Societies. German bonds gained 2.2 percent and U.S. Treasuries rose 1.3 percent. To contact the reporter on this story: Emma Charlton in London at echarlton1@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Paul Dobson at pdobson2@bloomberg.net

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