Pound sterling dives

NEW YORK: The British pound recorded its largest daily drop against the U.S. dollar in 3-1/2 weeks after two euroskeptic ministers announced their resignation from UK Prime Minister Theresa May´s cabinet, leaving the British leader´s Brexit plans in chaos.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson stepped down on Monday just hours after Brexit minister David Davis´s resignation on Sunday evening, calling into question May´s ability to deliver the vision of continued close ties with the European Union that she said they had agreed to last week.

Davis had been in charge of exit negotiations with the bloc.

The two departures shatter May´s own proclamation of cabinet unity last Friday, when she believed she had, after two years of wrangling, secured agreement on Britain´s biggest foreign and trading policy shift in almost half a century.

The pound fell 1.3 percent against the dollar to a daily low of $1.319. In mid-afternoon trade, the pound recovered some of those losses, last at $1.326, following the news that UK Conservative Party Chairman Brandon Lewis said he did not expect a vote of confidence against the prime minister.

On the back of sterling´s slide, the dollar index rose 0.5 percent against a basket of six major currencies to a daily high of 94.206.