The British pound continued its historic trend of starting the year on a tender note, posting a seventh consecutive year of losses on the first trading day after the New Year.

Deutsche Bank Analysts (ETR:) noted that the pound fell by more than one percent today, contributing to a long-term trend in which sterling has seen just three positive first-day returns in twenty years.

The bank’s analysis suggests that the behavior of the pound is not isolated, as the euro against the US dollar () shows a similar trend, although slightly less pronounced. Movements in the cable, the term for a currency pair, often coincide with a decline in relative interest rates at the beginning of the year.

However, today’s interest rate changes were minimal despite a downward revision of the UK manufacturing PMI and more favorable U.S. unemployment numbers

Deutsche Bank attributed the pound’s additional tender performance to last year’s “technical breakdown beta,” referring to the euro’s decline to last year’s lows and the pound’s fall to multi-month lows.

Technical analysis suggests that these breaks in key support levels have contributed to downward pressure on sterling.

Looking ahead, Deutsche Bank found no sturdy pattern to indicate whether the pound’s initial losses on the first trading day would reverse or continue into the following week.

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