LONDON, Dec 18: The European single currency fell back against the dollar late Thursday after hitting three-month highs earlier in the day, while sterling continued to fall amid mounting British economic gloom.

In late trading in London, the euro stood at $1.4270, which was down from $1.4404 late in New York on Wednesday.

It reached $1.4719 earlier in the day, the highest point since September 25.

The pound set a new record low against the euro of 1.0463 on Thursday before recovering slightly. It has lost 15 per cent of its value against the euro since mid October.

“Sterling’s weakness continues unabated and is lifting euro/pound to ever new record levels,” said Commerzbank analyst Ulrich Leuchtmann.

The pound has plunged since minutes from the Bank of England’s December 4 meeting were revealed on Wednesday showing that policymakers mulled a steeper cut when they voted 9-0 to cut interest rates by a full percentage point to 2.0 per cent.

“The trouble for the pound really began with the minutes of the rate decision, which drove the currency lower,” Leuchtmann added.

“Not only was there again no dissenting vote at the meeting, but an even stronger rate cut was also discussed.”—AFP