Sterling slips on Brexit

LONDON: Sterling slipped against the dollar, euro and yen on Tuesday, kept under pressure by uncertainty over the terms of Britain's exit from the European Union and by doubts over how soon the Bank of England will start raising interest rates.

Sterling fell almost one percent to a 12-week low of 137.24 yen, with the Japanese currency up across the board as a risk-off mood pushed investors into traditional safe havens.

Analysts said the broad fall in risk appetite was driven by worries over an upcoming meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, as well as a suspected suicide bombing in St Petersburg, Russia, and French elections beginning at the end of the month.

For sterling, political risk has been in the driving seat for nine months, with the currency losing around 17 percent against the dollar since Britain's vote to leave the European Union last June.  A parliamentary committee said on Tuesday that British Prime Minister Theresa May must prove that "no deal is better than a bad deal" by offering an economic assessment on the impact of leaving the EU with no agreement.