Consumer confidence, services data hurt pound

The UK pound weakened Wednesday on new data showing that consumer confidence has declined to its lowest in four years and that a key services index was down to 40.1, leaving the sector in contraction.

The pound was also hurt by a statement from Willem H. Buiter, a former member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee, that UK interest rates could hit zero next year.

At just before noon in New York, the pound traded at 85.7p to the euro while it took $1.4773 to buy a pound.

The Japanese yen, on the other hand, strengthened versus the euro and the pound while it remained about even versus the greenback on a pullback from purchases of higher-yielding currencies.

The yen traded at ¥118.0228 to the euro and at ¥137.7212 to the pound while it was at ¥93.225 to the US dollar near midday in New York.

The US dollar gained on the euro, trading at $1.266 to the shared currency, on bets that the European Central Bank will cut interest rates in the Eurozone on Thursday.

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