Pound’s Slide Relentless After FT Report

The Pound Sterling continued to slide against the US Dollar, again striking below the $1.23 level as concerns mount over the repercussions of the upcoming Brexit. The latest fall seems to have been incited by a report from the Financial Times which said that VTB, a major bank in Russia, could move its financial hub out of London and are considering relocating to either Germany, France or Austria. With London a major banking sector, the exodus by foreign banks will weigh heavily on the Pound.

As reported at 10:37 am (BST) in London, the GBP/USD was trading at 1.2309, down 0.47%; the pair had slide to $1.2278, a loss of 0.06%. On Friday, the pair plunged to below $1.23, a full 10% decline and the worst seen in more than 30 years. The EUR/GBP was up at 0.9034 Pence, a gain of 0.2487%; earlier it had traded at 0.90451 Pence.

Outlook for Pound Altered

Though analysts are still pricing the GBP/USD at around the $1.20 to $1.25 level, after last Friday’s fall they are reassessing those forecasts. Some analysts wonder if parity with the Dollar is a possible outcome, especially if Britain can’t find the funds to meet the gap in the current account which is equal to 6% of the country’s GDP.