Prime Minister Theresa May blames the sinking pound on media reports of a looming “hard Brexit”
Theresa May has blamed the fall in sterling on press reports that she is planning a so-called hard Brexit.
The pound fell to its lowest level against the dollar since October yesterday, after the Prime Minister heavily implied the UK will not stay in the Single Market after Brexit.
Sterling dropped from $1.229 at the end of last week to $1.212 yesterday afternoon. It was around $1.217 in the early hours of this morning. On the night of the EU vote, one pound was worth $1.488.
"I'm tempted to say that the people who are getting it wrong are those who print things saying I'm talking about a hard Brexit, [and that] it is absolutely inevitable there's a hard Brexit. I don't accept the terms hard and soft Brexit," she said during an event at the Charity Commission.
Read more: Theresa May is hinting at the end of the UK's Single Market membership
She added: "What we're doing is (that we are) going to get an ambitious, good, best possible deal for the United Kingdom in terms of … trading with and operating within the single European market."
The Prime Minister has remained extremely guarded prior to the triggering of Article 50, insisting the government must not reveal its hand before crunch negotiations commence.
However, at the weekend May appeared to hit back at Remain campaigners who want the UK to keep hold of "bits" of EU membership. Her comments rocked the pound as soon as Asian markets opened.