Pound Drops On Tariff Concerns
(RTTNews) - The pound declined against its major counterparts in the New York session on Monday, as the U.S. dollar strengthened after President-elect Donald Trump threatened to impose a 100 percent tariff on BRICS nations if they moved away from the U.S. currency.
Trump warned BRICS countries to not create a new currency or back any other currency to replace the US dollar, pledging 100 percent tariffs for non-compliance.
Investors looked ahead to key economic data and comments from Federal Reserve officials, including Chair Jerome Powell, for additional clues about the outlook for interest rates.
The UK manufacturing sector deteriorated at the steepest pace in nine months in November, as output and new orders declined amid concerns surrounding the economic outlook, high costs, and weak demand, final survey data released by S&P Global showed.
The manufacturing purchasing managers' index dropped to 48.0 in November from 49.9 in October. Any reading below 50 indicates contraction. The flash reading was also 48.6.
The pound fell to a 5-day low of 1.2616 against the greenback and a 2-1/2-month low of 188.47 against the yen, off its early highs of 1.2735 and 191.29, respectively. The next possible support for the currency is seen around 1.24 against the greenback and 185.00 against the yen.
The pound retreated to 1.1200 against the franc and 0.8300 against the euro, from an early more than 2-week high of 1.1262 and a 10-day high of 0.8270, respectively. The currency is seen finding support around 1.10 against the franc and 0.86 against the euro.