Investing.com - The pound was weaker on Wednesday following a data release from Halifax, which showed UK house prices fell for two consecutive months.
At 11:08 GMT, GBP/USD was down 0.47% to 1.3885, falling below the $1.39 handle.
Mortgage lender Halifax reported month on month house prices fell 0.6% in January, while the December figure was revised down to a decline of 0.8%, from the previous reading of -0.6%.
The consensus figure was an increase of 0.2%.
In the three months to January, house price growth (YoY) was recorded at 2.2%, down from the forecast figure of 2.4%, and lower than December’s 2.7%.
London and the Greater London area were the areas most affected by the slowdown in house price growth.
Rival mortgage lender Nationwide reported a 3.2% UK-wide house price increase last week.
House prices have been under pressure since the UK voted to leave the European Union in the June 2016 referendum.
Lower than expected growth in services, the UK’s largest sector, caused the pound to drop from the 1.40 handle against a strengthening dollar on Monday.
The dollar was higher against most major currencies on Wednesday, however as a result of the recent spike in volatility in equity markets, traders remained cautious ahead of the U.S. market open.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.20% at 89.70.
The single currency was mixed on Wednesday following lower than expected industrial production data from Germany. EUR/USD was down 0.24% to 1.2346. The euro made modest gains against sterling, EUR/GBP was up 0.21% to 0.8891.
Sterling plunged 0.90% against the safe haven Japanese yen, GBP/JPY changed hands at 151.40 GBP/CHF dipped 0.07% to 1.3047.
The pound was mixed against commodity currencies, falling 0.25% against the Canadian dollar. GBP/CAD was 1.7384.
GBP/NZD was almost unchanged from the previous session close at 1.8992. GBP/AUD was up 0.12% to 1.7666.
Investors will be looking to the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee meeting on Thursday for any indication of a shift in monetary policy. It is widely expected that the Bank of England will keep interest rates unchanged.