Sterling dropped on Wednesday, Reuters reported. The euro ticked lower as traders awaited inflation data for further clues on economic recovery in Europe, while the dollar recovered some ground against the yen. The pound fell nearly half a percent in Asian trade to $1.2788, approaching the one-month low of $1.2775 touched on Friday. It was last down 0.3 percent at $1.2813. It also slipped to as low as 87.38 pence per euro, near Friday's eight-week low of 87.50. The dollar recouped losses after touching a 12-day low versus the safe-haven yen on Tuesday, the greenback, which fell to 110.665 yen on Tuesday, last traded up 0.1 percent at 110.90 yen, staying within recently traded ranges. The dollar index which measures the greenback against a basket of peers, edged up 0.1 percent to 97.367, holding well above last week's 6-1/2-month low of 96.797. European shares opened flat on Wednesday, weighed by a fall in mining stocks and lifted by a big rise for Ericsson after an activist investor bought a stake in the telecoms equipment firm, Reuters reported.. The broader pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 0.02 percent by 0712 GMT and euro zone blue chips added 0.1 percent. The FTSE rose 0.2 percent, helped by a weaker pound. Ericsson rose 4 percent, leading STOXX gainers, after Cevian Capital bought a stake of more than 5 percent, saying it saw significant potential in the Swedish firm. The Basic Resources index, where major mining companies are listed, was the biggest sectoral faller, dropping 1.4 percent.
