STERLING has risen further, boosted by British unemployment and retail sales figures, and the pound has edged lower against the British currency. Last night, it closed at 99.54p sterling, down from just over 99.6p the previous day, and market analysts believe it could fall further unless the Central Bank steps in to support it.

The pound was trading in late afternoon at 2.5983 deutschmarks against DM2.5842 Tuesday evening, and at $1.6721 against $1.6715.

British unemployment fell below the two million mark last month for the first time in almost six years. The unemployment total is 1.93 million, while the unemployment rate fell sharply to 6.9 per cent against 7.2 per cent in October. Retail sales rose by 0.7 per cent in real terms last month from October, against the 0.5 per cent expected by analysts.