Pound slides to two-year low against the dollar

The pound has fallen to two-year lows against the dollar amid rising concerns about recession around the world as energy prices continue to soar.

Analysts said sterling - which was trading below $1.19 at one point - is also weak because markets are worried about future UK economic growth.

Sterling could fall even further after predictions of UK economic stagnation and as inflation rises, they added.

London shares regained some ground following falls on Tuesday.

The resignation of two senior government ministers on Tuesday evening, including former Chancellor Rishi Sunak, was not a significant factor in the pound's fall, Rabobank head currency strategist Jane Foley told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.

"The market is so much more concerned with growth, and what is this government going to do... the news in itself didn't create too many additional woes," she said.

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On Tuesday the pound fell below $1.19 for the first time since March 2020, when the first UK Covid lockdown was brought in.

It was trading at $1.189 in late trading in London on Wednesday afternoon - off the two-year low of $1.187. It later rose to trade above $1.19.

But Sterling rose against a weaker euro, up 0.5% to 85.46 pence, over concerns about the economic fallout from surging energy prices.

A weak pound means that imports such as food become more expensive, and it pushes up the price of petrol at the pumps. It also means that UK holidaymakers get less for their money when buying abroad.

However, UK products and services that are sold abroad can become more attractively priced for foreign customers.

Regained ground

The pound to dollar rate was flat on Wednesday, while markets rose in London and Europe, with some analysts saying they were resetting to a lower level.

The FTSE 100 stock market in London, which fell nearly 3% on Tuesday, managed to gain 1.2% on Wednesday to close at 7,107.77.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said markets could have regained some ground on investor hope that a planned corporation tax rise in 2023 could be scrapped.

It could also be that stocks were "oversold" on Tuesday, he added.

Safe bet

The dollar is performing strongly due to US interest rate rises and because investors see it as a safe bet.

"Now many people are worried about recession - recession in the US, recession in Europe, and of course we've got our cost of living crisis here in the UK," Ms Foley said.

"Sterling is still weak on its own, and that is despite the fact that the Bank of England have hiked interest rates five times this cycle already, and the reason for that is that the market is very concerned about the growth outlook here in the UK," she said.

Sterling could fall even further, she said. One of the issues concerning investors is the shortage of UK labour, which hasn't gone back to pre-pandemic levels "because we've lost a lot of workers", she said.

Many people left the labour market during the pandemic, and due to a combination of Covid and Brexit, foreign workers who had left did not return.

'Deteriorating outlook'

The recent fall in sterling also came about because of the UK government "aggravating the Northern Ireland protocol", said George Godber, a fund manager with Polar Capital.

Investors have been worried that the escalating dispute over the post-Brexit trading arrangements for Northern Ireland risks seeing the government scrapping parts of that deal, which could trigger a trade war.

"International investors don't like that, and it puts a lot of pressure on the pound, and that in turn feeds through to the economy," he said. "The petrol prices are high because sterling has been weak."

Changes in prices at the pump for petrol are mainly down to the price of crude oil, and how the pound is performing against the dollar, because crude oil is traded in dollars.

Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi says the Prime Minister's focus is on "delivering"

Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi, who was appointed to the role on Tuesday, said in terms of cutting taxes, "nothing is off the table".

He referred to corporation tax saying he wanted to take a careful look at all the measures he could bring to "bear down on inflation but also return to that dynamic economy that delivers growth."

Sir Jon Cunliffe, a deputy governor of the Bank of England, told the Today programme that the Bank would do "whatever is necessary" to make sure the soaring cost of living did not become a long term problem.