Sterling under pressure to regain strength

STERLING, which has lost ground to most other leading currencies, will struggle to get back to its former trading range of 67-70 pence to the euro in the coming months.

It broke out of that pattern in November when it went to 71p to the euro and has continued to surprise markets by falling further in the meantime.

Last week the euro hit a new high of over 80p raising questions about its long-term value, said Dan McLaughlin, chief economist Bank of Ireland.