Sterling is all over the place today
The pound spent the morning lurching wildly around as threatening comments from European jostled with a rather more soothing tone from Bank of England governor Mark Carney.
Although sterling fell as low as $1.2171, as the morning wore on it rose to $1.2240, 0.1 per cent down against the dollar.
Meanwhile, it headed into positive territory against the euro, edging up 0.2 per cent to €1.1103, having fallen to €1.1053 earlier in the day.
[custom id="175"]
The currency was strengthened after Carney suggested that while it was not the Bank of England's job to target the value of sterling, it was "not indifferent" to its fall.
Speaking at an event in Nottingham, he said the pound's value "matters to the conduct of monetary policy".
"[The Bank must] weigh increased inflation against supporting the economy," he added.
The pound has been falling steadily since Theresa May confirmed at last week's Conservative party conference that Article 50 will be triggered before the end of March next year, beginning Britain's process of leaving the European Union.
Read more: These eight British companies will get a huge boost from the weak pound
But yesterday French minister Michel Sapin added fuel to the fire, saying banks were planning an "exodus" from Britain, making investors more nervy.
Meanwhile European Council president Donald Tusk said the UK will be forced into a so-called hard Brexit, adding that the only alternative was "no Brexit"
"It is useless to speculate about soft Brexit," he added.
"These would be purely theoretical speculations. In my opinion, the only real alternative to a hard Brexit is ‘no Brexit'."
"Unsurprisingly this kind of rhetoric hasn’t been welcomed by the pound," said Connor Campbell, financial analyst at Spreadex
"While sterling [remains] above the week’s (and, indeed, decades’) lows, that fact will provide mere crumbs of comfort for the currency," he added.
Indeed, a note by Credit Suisse suggested the pound had further to fall.
Is the pound's fall mostly done? Credit Suisse suggests it might be. Via @vikramreuters pic.twitter.com/ysULSCSnHz
— Jamie McGeever (@ReutersJamie) October 14, 2016