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LONDON (AFP)

The euro pulled lower against the dollar on Wednesday in the wake of disappointing data in Germany, while traders tracked Europe’s public debt woes, analysts said.

In morning London deals, the European single currency eased to 1.3586 dollars from 1.3598 dollars late in New York on Tuesday.

Against the Japanese currency, the dollar rose to 90.39 yen from 89.96 yen on Tuesday.

German exports dropped by an unexpectedly sharp 6.3 percent in January from the previous month, official statistics showed on Wednesday, though order levels suggest they should rise again soon.

It was the first monthly fall since August in Europe’s biggest economy, and came as imports grew by 6.0 percent, the Destatis statistics office said.

That caused the German trade surplus for January to narrow to 8.0 billion euros (10.88 billion dollars) from 13.4 billion euros in December.

“The euro … had a poor start with euro/dollar sinking to 1.3550 at the open, encouraged by a surprising sharp fall in German exports, which questions the growth potential of the eurozone’s largest economy,” said analyst Jane Foley at online trading site Forex.com.

Eurozone powerhouse Germany had already lost its title of leading global exporter to China last year.

Markets were waiting for US figures on trade and weekly jobless claims that are scheduled to be released on Thursday.

Investors also continued to focus on Greece and the risk that its public debt problems might spread to Portugal and other European nations.

The Portuguese government said this week it would cut spending, delay investment and sell state assets in an attempt to fix the country’s finances.

“The Greek credit crisis remains a cause of concern, keeping investors away from riskier currencies” such as the euro, said Masatsugu Miyata, a forex dealer at Hachijuni Bank.

The British pound, meanwhile, languished underneath 1.50 dollars following Tuesday’s dire trade data and an ominous warning about the nation’s stretched public finances.

“The pound was hit by yesterday’s increase in Britain’s trade deficit in January which surprised the market and sent the pound tumbling,” said CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson.

“The pound was dealt a further blow when Fitch ratings criticised the credibility of the government’s budget plans, warning that Britain risks a loss of investor confidence and erosion of its ‘AAA’ rating unless it maps out clear austerity measures.”

In London on Wednesday, the euro was changing hands at 1.3586 dollars against 1.3598 dollars on Tuesday, at 122.87 yen (122.35), 0.9114 pounds (0.9066) and 1.4616 Swiss francs (1.4616).

The dollar stood at 90.39 yen (89.96) and 1.0758 Swiss francs (1.0747).

The pound was at 1.4906 dollars (1.4994).

On the London Bullion Market, the price of gold rose to 1,125 dollars an ounce from 1,115.75 dollars an ounce on Tuesday.