Sterling dipped to a one-month low against the euro on Thursday ahead of a meeting between the British and Irish leaders as Brexit outcomes remain unclear just three weeks before Britain is due to leave the European Union.

The pound rose 0.3% against a broadly weak dollar, last trading at $1.2238.

Versus the euro, sterling was a touch softer on the day at 90.03 pence, after touching lows o f 90.07.

The focus remains on Brexit. Prime Minister Boris Johnson will meet his Irish counterpart Leo Varadkar in a last ditch attempt to revive the British proposal for a Brexit deal that the European Union says is inadequate.

The British currency has been driven by Brexit headlines again this week. It jumped on Wednesday after reports of a breakthrough on the Irish backstop and then giving up its gains as hopes of progress on a key sticking point for a Brexit deal were dashed.

British economic data, including GDP estimates and monthly services and production figures are due at 0830 GMT. The consensus forecast is for GDP to remain unchanged in August.

"Normally this would be a big day for data-watchers, but probably politics trumps everything in Britain now," said Marshall Gittler, a strategist at ACLS Global.

"It would have to be some amazing economic news to get much of a bounce out of sterling at this point," he wrote in a note. (Reuters)

Source: www.businessworld.ie