THE pound hit its highest level against the euro for three-and-a-half years yesterday, as traders fretted over the outlook for Spain and Italy amid the single currency zone debt crisis.
Sterling also rose against the dollar, which was weighed down by news of a third straight monthly fall in US retail sales in June.
John Higgins, senior markets economist at Capital Economics, said: "The last time US retail sales fell for three months on the trot was late 2008. And we know what happened then.
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