Pound sterling falls

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TOKYO: The British pound flirted with a three-month low on Tuesday, hit by fears that Prime Minister Theresa May´s speech later in the day is likely to set Britain on a course that would end its access to the lucrative European Union single market.  Concerns over U.S. President-elect Donald Trump´s protectionist policies are also undermining risk sentiment, helping to push up the yen back to its highest levels in more than five weeks.

The pound was on the defensive at $1.2045, having slumped to a three-month low of $1.1983 on Monday, which was its weakest point in more than three decades barring the several minutes in early Asian trade on Oct 7 when it tanked to as low as $1.1491.Against the euro, the pound hit a 10-week low of 88.53 pence per euro on Monday before edging back to 88.06. Against the yen, sterling hit an eight-week low of 136.81 on Monday.

May will say Britain will not seek a Brexit deal that leaves it "half in, half out" of the European Union, according to her office, in a speech setting out her 12 priorities for upcoming divorce talks with the bloc.

Those priorities will include leaving the EU´s single market and regaining full control of Britain´s borders, several newspapers have reported.