LONDON: Britain’s pound fell on Monday as concern rose that the country is heading for a “hard” Brexit from the European Union and its single market, a day before a speech by Prime Minister Theresa May on the government’s plans.

Some British newspapers have billed May’s speech on Tuesday as a shift away from preferential EU single market access — in order to win restrictions on immigration — and a toughening of the UK’s stance towards an economic bloc that accounts for roughly half its exports and imports.

A spokeswoman for May, who will also attend a gathering of the world’s economic elite in Davos, Switzerland, this week, called the reports about the tone of her upcoming speech “speculation”.

That remark helped steady sterling in London trading but could not repair all the damage. The pound at one point had dropped below $1.20 to a three-decade low, barring its “flash crash” in October, and as much as 2.5 per cent against the Japanese yen.

Published in Dawn, January 17th, 2017