Summary

  • Bank of England to investigate sterling 'flash crash'

  • Pound trading around $1.23 and €1.11

  • UK industrial production falls in August

  • US unemployment figures at 13:30 BST

Live Reporting

Tom Espiner

  1. The white stuff...

    Business presenter Victoria Fritz tweets:

    This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    Skip twitter post

    Allow Twitter content?

    This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy and privacy policy before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

  2. Sterling's sharp fall

    Pound to dollar chartBloomberg

    This chart from Bloomberg shows the sharp drop in the pound this morning against the dollar. It plunged below $1.18 before shooting back above $1.24, where it's since stayed.

    Traders have speculated that a "flash crash" caused by a rogue algorithm could be to blame.

  3. Pound 'flash crash' in Asia

    Andreas Illmer
    Business reporter in Singapore

    Pound notesAFP

    It's a been a rough morning for the pound in Asia. 

    The currency tumbled more than 6% in a matter of seconds - leaving traders scratching their heads over what triggered the sudden crash. 

    Here's one likely explanation: The sharp fall coincided with an FT article on French President Francois Hollande calling for tough Brexit negotiations with the UK. 

    That might have triggered a keyword or newsflow-focused algorithm to start selling, which in turn would have started other algorithms to sell as well. 

    Trading in the pound is very low at the opening of Asian markets, so that computer chain reaction would have had a major impact on the exchange rate. 

    The pound has recovered somewhat since then, but is still down at around $1.24.

  4. Good morning

    Chris Johnston
    Business reporter

    It's Friday - and welcome to the last day of Business Live for this week. Another dramatic day for sterling overnight in Asia - full coverage coming up, plus US unemployment figures at 13:30 BST. 

    Thanks for joining us - do get in touch at bizlivepage@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter at @cajuk.