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Sterling fell to a two-week low versus the dollar as a broadly resurgent dollar sapped appetite for the British currency after the United States and China agreed at a G20 summit in Japan to restart trade talks.
That deal came after U.S. President Donald Trump offered concessions to his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping when the two met on the side-lines of a Group of 20 summit in Japan.
Investors also avoided the pound on concerns that arch-Brexiteer Boris Johnson, the favourite to replace Prime Minister Theresa May, will push to leave the EU with or without a deal by Oct. 31.
The EU are reluctant to open the deal they negotiated with May, and that might set up a confrontation with the new British prime minister who, barring a major upset, will be Boris Johnson.
The ruling Conservative Party will elect its next leader by the end of July, giving them only a few months to try to renegotiate the Brexit withdrawal agreement.
Against the euro, however, sterling firmed to approach one-week highs. The currency had fallen to nearly six-month lows last week.
Britain’s construction industry suffered its worst month in more than 10 years in June as the Brexit crisis put companies off long-term investment, a survey showed this morning, adding to signs of a slowdown in the British economy overall.
The IHS Markit/CIPS construction Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) plunged to 43.1, the lowest reading since April 2009 when the country was gripped by the global financial crisis.
GBP/EUR 1.1146
GBP/USD 1.2603
GBP/AED 4.6241
GBP/AUD 1.8026
GBP/CHF 1.2445
GBP/CAD 1.6540
GBP/NZD 1.8901
EUR/USD 1.1295
GBP/ZAR 17.747