Pound slides below $1.23 as central bank hints at looser policy

• The pound weakened 0.3% to $1.2285 on Friday as his comments raised expectations that the next move from the central bank could be a rate cut. The pound also weakened 0.3%  versus the euro to 88.83 pence.
• British government bond yields dropped close to 5 basis points across the board following the news, with two-year yields  sinking to 0.382%, their lowest since Sept. 9, while 10-year yields fell to their lowest since Sept. 4 at 0.472%.

LONDON|: Sterling dropped below $1.23 to a new two-week low and bond yields fell after a senior policymaker at the Bank of England said "prolonged high Brexit uncertainty" could warrant looser monetary policy if global growth stayed disappointing.

The pound weakened 0.3% to $1.2285 on Friday as his comments raised expectations that the next move from the central bank could be a rate cut. The pound also weakened 0.3%  versus the euro to 88.83 pence.

British government bond yields dropped close to 5 basis points across the board following the news, with two-year yields  sinking to 0.382%, their lowest since Sept. 9, while 10-year yields fell to their lowest since Sept. 4 at 0.472%.

A weaker pound lifted the export-focused benchmark stock index with the main equity index climbing 0.9% to its highest level since Aug. 2