Sterling fell to a two-month low against the euro after strong German data on Wednesday, shrugging off upbeat news on the UK property market and retail sector.
Sterling showed little reaction to a survey from property consultant Hometrack which showed that British house prices rose for the first time in 18 months in December and news of strong retail sales during the key Christmas shopping period.
British department store John Lewis said that like-for-like sales rose 7 percent in the 28 days to December 24, helped by strong demand for electronic goods and handbags.
Meanwhile in Germany, the GfK market research group's forward-looking gauge of consumer sentiment rose more than expected to 3.8 for January after a revised 3.4 in the previous month.
"The GfK survey was quite a lot stronger than expected and highlighting a pretty healthy picture for the German consumer, which makes a change in the run-up to the long Christmas period. As a consequence, sterling suffered," said Audrey Childe-Freeman, European economist at CIBC World Markets.
By 1500 GMT, the pound traded at 68.90 pence per euro, down more than half a percent on the day and at levels last seen on October 10.
A break of 69 pence per euro would take the pound to 4-month lows against the single currency. Sterling was up slightly against a broadly weaker dollar at $1.7297, moving off a four-week low hit in holiday-thinned trade in the previous session.
UK financial markets reopened on Wednesday after two days of holiday but trade was thin with many market players still away from their desks.
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