British one pound sterling coins are arranged for a photograph in central London.
March 18, 2020
British pound nosedives against US dollar to 1985 low
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP)— Sterling tanked Wednesday against the dollar, hitting its lowest level since 1985 as investors snapped up the safe haven US currency in markets panicked by the coronavirus outbreak.
The pound slid about 1.9 per cent to $1.1828 according to Bloomberg data. It later stood at $1.1861.
“Sterling has completed one of its steepest declines in memory by hitting its weakest level since 1985, excluding… the brief dive of the October 2016 flash crash,” said Markets.com analyst Neil Wilson.
“This seems to be an offloading of risky-ish pounds in favour of safer dollars.”
