LONDON, Dec 24: The euro gained on the dollar and struck a fresh record against the pound here on Monday on a market largely deserted by traders heading for holiday destinations.

The London currency market will be closed on Tuesday.

The single European currency in late-day deals was at 1.4405 dollars against 1.4378 late Friday in New York.

The euro shot to a new record against the pound, hitting 72.89 pence, the euro’s best showing since its creation in 1999.

The dollar was meanwhile trading at 114.36 yen, up from 114.09 on Friday.

There has been “very little movement ... but the euro has managed to move into the black,” said Peter Stoneham at Thomson IFR Markets as the euro edged up against the dollar during the day.

“The thin holiday conditions have been exacerbated by the lack of fresh factors for the market to trade off. Corporate activity has leant some direction with patchy euro demand out of Europe,” he said.

The pound has come under heavy pressure recently as a run of weak data has increased fears for British economic prospects. Investors are also speculating that British interest rates, as set by the Bank of England, could fall further and faster than previously thought, making the pound less attractive.

A survey by Hometrack early Monday, showing the sharpest monthly decline in house prices in Britain in three years, was only the latest in a series of housing surveys and data that have painted a bleak picture of the property market.

Elsewhere, the yen was weaker as stronger equity markets caused a pick-up in risk appetite and demand for the carry trade, where investors borrow in low-yielding currencies such as the yen to invest in higher-yielding assets elsewhere.

Among high-yielding currencies, the Australian dollar was a particular beneficiary, hitting a 12-day high against the yen as well as a 10-day high against the US dollar.

The Canadian dollar was also firmer, continuing its move below parity against its US counterpart as the US dollar hit a 25-day low of 0.9868 against the Canadian currency.

In European trading on Monday, the euro changed hands at 1.4405 dollars, against 1.4378 late Friday, at 164.73 yen (164.03), 0.7287 pounds (0.7245) and 1.6674 Swiss francs (1.6610).

The dollar stood at 114.36 yen (114.09) and 1.1574 Swiss francs (1.1551).—AFP