Sterling slips after Manchester blast, euro higher

The pound slid lower on Tuesday after at least 22 people were killed and 59 injured by a suspected suicide bomber at a pop concert in Manchester, while the euro pushed higher a day after German Chancellor Angela Merkel said it was “too weak”.

Sterling was weaker against the safe haven yen, with GBP/JPY slipping 0.19% to 144.43 by 07.56 GMT.

The pound was also lower against the firmer euro, with EUR/GBP rising 0.25% to 0.8663.

Against the dollar, the pound was little changed, with GBP/USD at 1.2991 after touching lows of 1.2954 earlier.

Police confirmed that 22 people were killed, including some children, and 59 injured after an explosion at Manchester Arena at the end of a concert by Ariana Grande.

The perpetrator was a man acting alone, who died at the scene after detonating an improvised explosive device, the police said.

The dollar was a touch lower against the yen, with USD/JPY dipping 0.1% to 111.18.

The euro touched fresh six-month highs against the dollar, with EUR/USD advancing 0.17% to 1.1255.

The euro bounced higher on Monday after Merkel said the single currency was “too weak”.

Speaking in Berlin, Merkel said Germany’s record trade surplus was partly due to the European Central Bank’s expansionary monetary policy, which has driven down the euro.

The euro received an additional boost after data on Tuesday showing that French private sector growth accelerated to a six-year high this month.

A separate report showed that private sector output in Germany expanded at the fastest pace in over six years this month, indicating that the recovery in the euro area is deepening.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was steady at an almost six month trough of 96.80.

The weaker greenback boosted the Australian and New Zealand dollars, with AUD/USD up 0.2% to 0.7493 and NZD/USD rising 0.46% to 0.7027.