Sterling falls to two-month low ahead of new UK restrictions

The pound slipped to two-month lows against the dollar on Tuesday ahead of a fresh set of mobility restrictions to be imposed by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to tackle the second wave of the coronavirus outbreak.

Sterling fell 0.51% to $1.2751 against the dollar, the lowest level since July 24 while the pound was down 0.25% against the European common currency at 92 pence . 

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Johnson will tell people on Tuesday to work from home and announce new curbs on pubs, bars and restaurants, stopping some way short of a full national lockdown of the sort he imposed in March.

"Assuming a full two-week lockdown ('circuit-breaker') is avoided, the markets may show signs of relief given there has for some time been a strong assumption that full lockdowns like in March-May would be avoided," MUFG Research said in a note.

Reuters