Sterling slid on Monday in a risk-off trading day, ahead of a busy week for data with markets expecting Britain's employment and inflation figures to provide clues on when the Bank of England (BoE) will start loosening monetary policy.
With U.S. markets closed for a public holiday, European shares fell and government bond yields rose on warnings against premature rate cuts from the European Central Bank (ECB).
Investors are awaiting a slew of UK economic data this week, including job figures on Tuesday, inflation data on Wednesday and retail sales numbers on Friday.
Risk-sensitive sterling fell 0.17% to $1.2729, but stayed within sight of its late December peak of $1.2825, which was the highest since August.
Against the euro , it slipped 0.15% to 86.02 pence, pulling back from a three-week high against the single currency hit last week.
Money markets are pricing in around 130 basis points of interest rate cuts from the BoE by the end of the year, with a first cut likely in May, according to LSE Group data.
Source : Reuters
