Closing post
Time for a quick round-up…
The pound is heading for its worst week in 18 months on Friday as City traders anticipated that the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, could face a challenge from the Manchester mayor, Andy Burnham, later this year.
After days of uncertainty over Starmer’s future, sterling dropped by around three cents, or 2.2%, during the week to $1.332 on Friday, a five-week low. That would be the largest weekly drop against the US dollar since Donald Trump’s election win in early November 2024.
The pound fell against the dollar every day this week as leadership tensions gripped Westminster, culminating in the prospect of Burnham challenging Starmer for the role of PM after the Greater Manchester mayor announced he would run for parliament in the north-west constituency of Makerfield.
UK borrowing costs have hit multi-year highs too, which economists blamed on political uncertainty and also a wider sell-off in bonds as inflation fears hit markets.
In other news:
Updated
FTSE 100 finishes at lowest close since end of March
After a rough day’s trading, Britain’s stock market has closed firmly in the red.
The FTSE 100 share index has ended the day down 117.5 points at 1,0195, a fall of 1.71%. That’s its lowest close since the end of March.
Mining stocks and utilities were among the big fallers, as investors anticipated a burst of growth-sapping higher inflation as oil price keep rising.
