Sterling drifted to a one-week low against the euro in thin trade on Thursday, after data showed British mortgage approvals fell in July and as traders took profits on the pound's recent gains.
Sterling extended losses made after Wednesday's sharp fall in British August industrial orders but dealers said that trade was thin and sterling remained firmly within recent ranges.
The British Bankers' Association said the number of mortgage approvals - loans agreed but not made - fell by 6 percent from a year ago to 65,611 in July but sterling's reaction was fairly muted as approvals fell at their slowest annual rate in a year.
"Mortgage approvals have stabilised and house prices are unlikely to move sharply lower but that's something the FX market has known for some time," said Adarsh Sinha, FX strategist at Barclays Capital.
By 1340 GMT, sterling had fallen as low as 68.28 pence per euro, a one-week low. The pound hit a seven-week high against the euro last week.
Against the dollar, sterling was at $1.8010, little changed on the day after hitting a one-week high at $1.8083 in Asian trade. Turnover was light before a holiday weekend, with British financial markets closed on Monday.
On Friday, the second estimate of British second quarter economic growth will be released.
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