UK Labour’s Reeves: ‘incredibly worried’ by fall in the pound

LONDON (Reuters) – The financial policy spokeswoman for Britain’s opposition Labour Party said she was incredibly worried about the fall in the pound overnight, saying it put pressure on the Bank of England to raise interest rates.

Sterling tumbled nearly 5% to an all-time low against the U.S. dollar on Monday, before partly recovering, as the fall-out from the new government’s fiscal plan on Friday continued.

“I started my career as an economist at the Bank of England and like everyone else I’m incredibly worried about what we’ve seen, both on Friday with market reactions to the chancellor’s so-called mini-budget, and also the reactions overnight,” Rachel Reeves told Times Radio.

“It also puts more pressure on the Bank of England to increase interest rates,” she added.

(Reporting by Kate Holton and Kylie MacLellan; editing by David Milliken)