Sterling slides to 31-year low as Brexit worries bite

[LONDON] Sterling slid to its lowest in more than three decades against the US dollar on Tuesday, as investors sold the currency on worries over the impact of Britain's looming departure from the European Union.

Sterling skidded more than one per cent on Monday on the back of Prime Minister Theresa May's announcement on Sunday that the formal process that will take Britain out of the EU will start by the end of March.

It extended those falls on Tuesday, slipping more than half a per cent to US$1.2764, its weakest since June 1985.

It also hit a three-year low of 87.51 pence per euro , down 0.2 per cent on the day.

After the formal 'Article 50' legal exit process is triggered, Britain and the EU will enter an initial two-year negotiating period.

REUTERS