MOSCOW: The British pound fell by almost 3 per cent against the US dollar on Monday morning, and hit the record minimum in early trade, according to trading data.
Sputnik reported that as of 04:46 GMT, the pound fell by 2.77 per cent to US$1.0555 from the previous close of $1.0856. At around 01:00 GMT, the currency plummeted to a new record all-time low of US$1.0384.
At the same time, the euro fell to US$0.9635 against the US dollar from the previous close of US$0.969. The Japanese yen reached 144.06 per US dollar from the last close of 143.32. The dollar index (the exchange rate against a group of currencies of six US trading partners) rose by 0.68 per cent to 113.95 points.
On Friday, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng unveiled a new 60-billion pounds growth plan to support the country’s economy amid the rising cost of living. The plan includes cancelling the planned rise in corporation tax, keeping it the lowest in the G20 at 19 per cent.
According to Ray Attrill, the head of the currency strategy at National Australia Bank, investors are concerned over the scale of near-term UK government financing needs for the multi-billion pound plan.-Bernama
