Pound continued to slip back against the aussie, hampered by a report from Fitch ratings agency

The pound continued to lose ground to the aussie dollar yesterday, dipping back below 1.80 as Fitch rating agency commented on the fragility of the UK's AAA credit rating.

• Sterling slipped back sharply as Fitch released the news in the early hours yesterday morning, with investors concerned about the long term health of the UK economy.
  
• However, sterling pulled back steadily from its sell off following a survey from the UK's Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, which said its measure of house prices rose to +34, its highest in nearly three years.
  
• In addition, the British Retail Consortium said the value of like-for-like UK sales rose 3.8% in October compared with a year ago, the biggest rise since April.
  
• In trading this morning, the aussie has made further ground on the pound, although its gains are limited as a raft of data from Australia's top trading partner, China, did not excite investors as it showed a marked slowdown in loan growth and sluggish trade performance.