Sterling crumbles to all-time nadir, euro at 20-year low

Sterling crashed to a record low on Monday as traders scampered for the exits on mounting concern that the new government’s economic plan will stretch Britain’s finances to the limit, Reuters reported.
The British pound’s searing drop helped the safe-haven U.S. dollar to a new two-decade peak against a basket of major peers, while the euro hit a fresh two-decade low against the greenback.
In Japan, authorities reiterated that they stood ready to respond to speculative currency moves, after they intervened last week to bolster the yen for the first time since 1998.
But it was sterling’s precipitous fall that grabbed traders’ attention. It slumped as much as 4.9% to an all-time nadir of $1.0327 , before stabilising around $1.0699 in early London trade — still down 1.5% on the day.
That followed a 3.6% drop on Friday, when new finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng unveiled historic tax cuts funded by the biggest increase in borrowing since 1972. Kwarteng on Sunday dismissed the freefall in the pound, saying his strategy was to focus more on longer-term growth and not short-term market reaction.