Pound at five-year low against dollar on weak output

The pound has fallen to a five-year low against the dollar on weak UK industrial output figures and uncertainty over the outcome of the election.

Sterling fell 0.7% to $1.4617, although it was up 0.2% at €1.3804.

Earlier, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said UK industrial output figures rose by just 0.1% in February from January.

The small increase was below analysts' forecasts for a 0.3% gain.

A number of opinion polls that showed Labour ahead of the Conservatives also unsettled traders.

One said the pound could fall far further if there were to be a prolonged struggle to form a government in the absence of a dominant party.

"A $1.40 level for sterling/dollar is certainly not out of reach if the election aftermath turns ugly," said Steve Barrow, currency strategist at Standard Bank.

Oil and gas production fell sharply, while the construction sector contracted by 0.9% in February, compared with forecasts for a rise of 2%.

The figures suggest the economy has slowed down this year, after a strong showing of 2.8% growth in 2014.

Manufacturing output showed the best growth within the industrial output measure, with a gain of 0.4% in February, bouncing back from its drop of 0.6% in January.

Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit, said: "Clearly this all bodes ill for economic growth in the opening quarter of the year. It's now looking like the economy slowed, and possibly quite markedly, compared to the 0.6% expansion seen in the closing quarter of 2014.

"The trend should improve in March, however, according to survey data."

The ONS' industrial output data covers 14.6% of the UK economy.

The first official estimate of gross domestic product for the first quarter of the year will be released about a week before the general election.

$ Voigtlander VM 40mm f/2.8 Heliar Manual Focus Lens Sony E-Mount
Panasonic Micro Four Thirds interchangeable lens LUMIX G VARIO 12-32mm / F3.5-5.6 ASPH. / MEGA OIS H-FS12032 Black...
!~ Bower SLY35VDC Wide-Angle 35mm T/1.5 Digital Cine Lens for SLR Canon Camera
@# Samyang Cine SYCV24M-N 24mm T1.5 Cine Wide Angle Lens for Nikon
!~ Pentax 21mm F/3.2 AL Limited Lens for Pentax Digital SLR Cameras
~ Nikon 40mm f/2.8 G DX AF-S Micro-Nikkor Lens with Ringlight + Tripod + 3 UV/CPL/ND8 Filters + Kit
~ Pentax DA* 200mm f/2.8 ED IF SDM Lens for Pentax DSLR Cameras
^^ Samyang Cine DS SYDS50M-NEX 50mm T1.5 AS IF UMC Full Frame Cine Wide Angle Lens for Sony E
* Nikon 1 NIKKOR 32mm f/1.2 (Black)
^-^ Samyang SY35M-C 35mm F1.4 Lens for Canon
#1 Rokinon 35mm f/1.4 Lens for Sony Cameras
^^ Zeiss 55mm f/1.4 Otus Distagon T* Lens for Canon EF (Manual Focus)
^^ Canon TC-DC58B Tele Converter Lens for S5 IS S3 IS & S2 IS Digital Camera (OLD MODEL)
^^ Olympus EC14 1.4x Teleconverter Lens (for at f/2.8 on E-System lenses)
* Leica 135mm f/3.4 Apo Telyt M Manual Focus Lens (11889)
* Sigma 18-300mm F3.5-6.3 DC Macro HSM ( C ) Lens for Pentax KAF Cameras
^-^ Panasonic LUMIX G VARIO 100-300mm F4.0-5.6 MEGA O.I.S H-FS100300 - International Version No Warranty
^^ Sony 70-300mm F4.5-5.6 G SSM Sal70300g Lens for a Mount
* Zeiss Normal 50mm f/1.5 C Sonnar T* ZM Manual Focus Lens for Zeiss Ikon and Leica M Mount Rangefinder Cameras...
^-^ Lensbaby Composer Pro with Double Glass Optic for Pentax K Digital SLR
#1 Rokinon 35mm F1.4 AS UMC Wide Angle Lens for Olympus and Panasonic Micro 4/3 (MFT) Mount Digital Cameras (RK35M-MFT...
Olympus Zuiko 7-14mm f/4.0 Aspherical Super ED Lens for Olympus Digital SLR Cameras
Tokina Zoom Super Wide Angle 16-50mm f/2.8 AT-X 165 PRO DX Autofocus Lens for Nikon
~ Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Standard Zoom Lens for Canon DSLR Cameras
@# Olympus PEN E-PL1 12.3MP Live MOS Micro Four Thirds Interchangeable Lens Digital Camera with 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6...
@# Olympus M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 12-50mm F3.5-6.3 EZ Lens
^-^ Tamron AF 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di LD VC (Vibration Compensation) Aspherical (IF) Macro Zoom Lens with Built in...
Rokinon 135mm F2.0 ED UMC Telephoto Lens for Sony Alpha A Mount Digital SLR Cameras
++ Contax G Zeiss 28mm f/2.8 Biogon Lens for G1 & G2 Cameras
Pentax DA 35mm f2.8 Macro Lens for Pentax K Mount Camera
* Sony Alpha E-Mount 20mm f/2.8 Wide-Angle Pancake Lens with 32GB Card + NP-FW50 Battery + Case + 3 Filters + Kit...
@# Pentax 21977 DA 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 ED AL (IF) DC WR Lens for Pentax Digital SLR cameras bulk packaging
@# Sigma 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM IF Lens for Pentax Digital SLR Cameras
@# Sigma 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM Lens for Sigma Digital SLR Cameras
Konica Minolta Maxxum Autofocus 24-105mm f/3.5-4.5 D Series Zoom SLR Lens
#1 Pentax 70mm f/2.4 DA Limited Lens for Pentax and Samsung Digital SLR Cameras
^-^ Zeiss 135mm f/2.0 APO-Sonnar T ZE Lens Canon Mount
Nikon 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR AF-S DX Nikkor Lens (White Box) for D5300 D7100 D5200 D3200 and other Nikon...
^-^ Contax 45mm Lens - f2.0
$ Rokinon DS50M-MFT Cine DS 50 mm T1.5 AS IF UMC Full Frame Cine Lens for Olympus & Panasonic Micro Four Thirds
#1 Russian Soviet Helios-40-2 85mm f/1.5 Best portrait manual lens for Nikon SLR/DSLR Camera. NEW!
^-^ Zeiss 85mm f/1.4 Planar T* ZF.2 Manual Focus Telephoto Lens for the Nikon F (AI-S) Bayonet SLR System.
Leica 28mm f/2.0 Aspherical M Manual Focus Lens (11604)
~ Rokinon 8mm F2.8 UMC Fisheye II (Black) Lens for Samsung NX Mount Digital Cameras (RK8MBK28-NX)
^^ Minolta - 80-200mm HS f/2.8 G telephoto zoom lens
^-^ Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 EX DG Macro Aspherical Large Aperture Standard Zoom Lens for Minolta and Sony SLR Cameras
^^ 25mm f/2.0 Distagon T ZE Series Manual Focus Lens for Canon EOS Cameras
#1 Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x Macro Photo Manual Focus Telephoto Lens Kit USA with Tiffen 58mm Photo Essentials...
@# Sigma 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM Auto Focus Lens Kit for Nikon AF Cameras with Tiffen 77mm UV Filter Lens Cap Leash...
~ Sigma 135 400mm f/4.5-5.6 DG RF APO Aspherical Ultra Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras