Pound weakens against the US dollar

The pound weakened against the US dollar on Friday, finishing the day at $1.5177.

• Ongoing risk-aversion following some poor economic figures last week weighed on the higher-yielding pound, as investors looked to the perceived safe-haven of the greenback throughout the day.
  ,li>Much worse-than-expected first quarter GDP figures in the eurozone exacerbated this flight to safety as concern a global economic recovery may still be some way off weighed on “riskier” currencies like the pound. Figures released on Friday showed the contraction in the eurozone’s economy in the first three months of 2009 was a much larger-than-expected 2.5%, following a 1.6% fall in the last quarter of 2008.
  
• The figures dented general risk sentiment in the market, particularly after ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet’s announcement earlier last week that the global economy was at “an infliction point”. Investors reacted by selling off the pound, although it did remain above the psychological $1.50 level.
  
• In trading so far today the pound has continued its slide against the US dollar, as news that Lloyds Banking Group chairman Sir Victor Blank would step down before the bank’s 2010 AGM shook confidence in the markets.
  
• There are no major announcements in the UK today, however in the US the Treasury’s Timothy Geithner is due to speak at a Newsweek Magazine Event at 16.30 BST.