Bad Week At The Office For The Pound
The pound capped a terrible week closing at 13 year lows on a trade-weighted index against a basket of currencies. It also set a record low against the euro since the single currencies inception in 1999.
The downwards pressure came as markets braced for further aggressive cuts in UK interest rates in the coming months.
Speaking in New York on Friday, Prime Minister Gordon Brown added weight to rate cut expectations by saying that the BoE has scope to cut interest rates in order to bolster the UK's ailing economy.
Against a basket of currencies, sterling hit a 13-year low of 80.5.
The pound closed the week at 85.5 pence against the euro, just over a penny away from the weeks all-time low of 86.62 pence.
Sterling finished Friday at $1.4746 against the dollar, not far off a 6-1/2-year low of $1.4555 hit on Thursday.
The downwards pressure came as markets braced for further aggressive cuts in UK interest rates in the coming months.
Speaking in New York on Friday, Prime Minister Gordon Brown added weight to rate cut expectations by saying that the BoE has scope to cut interest rates in order to bolster the UK's ailing economy.
Against a basket of currencies, sterling hit a 13-year low of 80.5.
The pound closed the week at 85.5 pence against the euro, just over a penny away from the weeks all-time low of 86.62 pence.
Sterling finished Friday at $1.4746 against the dollar, not far off a 6-1/2-year low of $1.4555 hit on Thursday.
