The pound fell again as Nationwide's consumer confidence for December was disappointing but a services PMI reading showed the sector was still expanding and had grown since November. However the positive news was unable to alter the pound's fate as it fell on further worries regarding the state of the UK's financial debt. The euro started off badly after European Central Bank member, Juergen Stark, stated the ECB would not be bailing Greece out over its financial difficulties. This weakened the single currency although services PMI data was able to limit most of the damage by showing the sector was still growing. The US dollar continued to improve despite a worse than expected ADP report.

Sterling

It was another poor day for the pound as continuing doubts over UK sovereign debt and political tensions outweighed a mixed bag of economic data. The Nationwide consumer confidence survey fell to 69 in December from November's figure of 73. The negative start was initially shaken off by services PMI which saw a slight improvement.

US dollar

The US dollar enjoyed another day of strength, fully enjoying its status as safe haven currency of choice. Political uncertainty in Japan after the resignation of Finance Minister, Hirohisa Fujii saw the dollar make ground against the yen. While continuing doubts surrounding the UK's sovereign debt allowed the greenback to improve on recent gains versus the British pound.

Euro

After a bad start for the single currency, respite came in the form of eurozone services PMI which came in ever so slightly below market expectations at 53.6 in December. However, the numbers showed a sector still in growth territory.

Japanese yen

The Japanese yen was rocked and fell sharply by news that Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii had resigned citing health reasons. Mr Fujii was one of the most experienced members of the Democratic ruling party and had been a major advocate of reducing Japan's massive public debt.