Outside the Bank of England in London, public opinion on the United Kingdom’s economic future was mixed as the British pound sank to an all-time low against the dollar before slightly recovering.
The volatility of sterling surged to its highest since the fallout from the Brexit referendum in mid-2016, after the British government’s fiscal plan alarmed investors and sent the pound to a record low against the dollar.
Earlier today, the pound hit a record low of $1.03 in Asian trading, before regaining some ground and stabilizing around $1.08, which is still well below where it was on Friday morning before the government unveiled its “mini-budget.”
Finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng, who unveiled a “mini-budget” on Friday full of tax cuts and very few details on how the government would fund them, doubled down at the weekend on his pledge to cut taxes and shrugged off the impact of short-term market reactions.