Sterling falls on weak manufacturing and services data

The British pound fell against the US dollar on Friday, following concerns over the escalating Covid-19 crisis and weak economic data.

Bank of England Chief Andrew Bailey said earlier that the British economy was able to mitigate the lockdown measures, compared to the damages of last year.

Bailey stressed that the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the British economy have begun to recede and there are signs on that, adding that the economy is coping with the lockdown measures that Prime Minister Boris Johnson has imposed until mid-February.

The UK's manufacturing PMI reached 52.9 points in December, missing forecasts of 53.5 points.

The services PMI slowed to 38.8 points in December, lower than forecasts of 45.2 points.

As of 20:56 GMT, GBP/USD fell 0.3% to 1.3683, after hitting a high of 1.3738, and a low of 1.3636.