Pound at lowest in June as Johnson takes lead for next PM
The British pound traded lower on Friday reaching its lowest level in June so far, after the first ballot in the Conservative Party's leadership race put Boris Johnson, former mayor of London and prominent Brexiter, far ahead of other Tory candidates, leaving Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt in a far second place. Johnson won 114 votes of Tory parliamentarians, while Hunt collected 43.
Johnson recently stated that the United Kingdom must leave the European Union by October 31, with a deal or without it. Earlier on Friday, he stressed that he is not advocating a no-deal Brexit, but underscored that "predictions of doom and disaster" associated with such a scenario are wrong.
The sterling fell 0.41% against the United States dollar at 2:51 pm CET, going for $1.26207, the lowest for June so far. Compared to the Japanese yen, it slid 0.40% at the same time, buying ¥136.84950, and contracted 0.28% against the Canadian dollar, changing hands for 1.68424 at 2:53 pm CET.