The pound was little changed, snapping a three-day decline against the dollar, after data showed U.K. employment and business confidence improved in February. The U.K. currency was also little changed versus the euro as a report from Lloyds Banking Group Plc today showed an index of employment confidence improved to minus 44 last month from minus 45 in January. A separate report released by accountants BDO LLP showed U.K. business confidence rose in February. The pound traded at $1.4935 at 8 a.m. London time after falling to $1.4885 on March 8, the weakest level since July 2010. Sterling was at 87.09 pence per euro. BDO’s Optimism Index, which predicts business performance two quarters ahead, stood at 90.6 in February from 88.9 in January, which was a 21-year low. It remains below the 95.0 mark that indicates growth. The Index has been below that threshold since May 2012. Sterling has dropped 6 percent this year, the second-worst performer after the yen among 10 developed-market currencies tracked by Bloomberg Correlation-Weighted Indexes. The euro rose 1.6 percent and the dollar gained 3.2 percent. U.K. government bonds lost 1.7 percent this year through March 8, according to indexes compiled by Bloomberg and the European Federation of Financial Analysts Societies. German bunds dropped 0.9 percent and Treasuries fell 1 percent. To contact the reporter on this story: Lucy Meakin in London at lmeakin1@bloomberg.net. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Paul Dobson at pdobson2@bloomberg.net.

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