STERLING fell further yesterday amid fears of a no-deal Brexit as new Prime Minister Boris Johnson promised the UK would leave the European Union “no matter what” on October 31, writes Ian McConnell.

The pound yesterday plummeted to an intra-day low of around $1.2117 – its weakest against the greenback since early 2017.

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The pound is far adrift of the near-$1.50 levels at which it traded on June 23, 2016, ahead of the EU referendum result.

Sterling yesterday sustained further heavy losses against the euro, with the single currency climbing to around 91.89p during the session.

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By 5pm in London, sterling was trading around $1.2148, down by 0.87 cents on its Monday close.

The euro was at 5pm trading around 91.76p, up by 0.69p on its close in London on Monday. The single currency has this week hit its best levels against sterling since September 2017.

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Michael Hewson, analyst at CMC Markets UK, said: “The mood music around Brexit has certainly changed in the last week or so, along with the tone of the message from the British government, which has become much more uncompromising...This hard line, so late in the day, appears to have prompted a sudden realisation that a no-deal Brexit has suddenly become a much more likely event.”