Kwarteng to ‘work closely’ with banks as five-year mortgage rates hit 6%; pound falls through $1.12 – as it happened

The window of an estate agent in Holmfirth, Britain Photograph: Adam Vaughan/EPA

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4.13pm BST

Pound drops below $1.12 as mini-budget fears swirl

Kwasi Kwarteng’s pledge to work closely with UK banks hasn’t provided much support for the pound, I’m afraid.

Sterling has now sagged back below $1.12 against the US dollar, down a cent and a half today.

That’s the lowest since Monday, and puts the pound on track for two chunky falls in a row (it’s nearly three cents lower than the start of Wednesday).

Thanim Islam, market strategist at international business payments firm Equals Money, says uncertainty over the government’s plans to lower debt in the medium-term could hurt the pound:

We are a long way from the Chancellor’s fiscal plan, due to be announced on the 23rd November, and until then the pound once again looks in a vulnerable state, should any comments from Number 10 fail to inspire any confidence.