Sterling falls despite upbeat economic data

The British pound fell against the US dollar on Friday, despite the release of upbeat economic data in the UK.

Currencies and commodities were weighed down by the 10-year US Treasury yields rise to its 13-month highs above 1.6%.

The monthly reading of the UK's GDP showed a contraction by 2.9% last month, better than forecasts of a contraction by 4.9%.

The goods trade balance showed a deficit of 9.8 billion pounds, also better than forecasts of a deficit by 12.2 billion pounds.

The index of services fell 2.4% in February while analysts forecast a drop by 3.3%.

As of 20:49 GMT, GBP/USD fell 0.4%, to 1.3931, after hitting a high of 1.4005 and a low of 1.3864.