Strong data helps limit damage to struggling sterling

"We would love to see cable (GBP/USD) at $1.25 within a couple of months." Traders were also digesting news from late on Wednesday that a senior career diplomat, Tim Barrow, had been appointed as envoy to the European Union after the previous ambassador had suddenly quit and criticised the government's Brexit plans.[nL5N1EU0SP] The pound tumbled 16 percent against the dollar and 14percent against the euro in 2016, its worst annual performance in eight years, with the bulk of those falls coming a