British pound under pressure because of Article 50 triggering today at 14:30 GMT+2

The British pound suffered fresh losses the U.S. dollar and the yen on Wednesday ahead of formal negotiations by the U.K. to exit the European Union.

The pound GBPUSD slid to $1.2385, its lowest intraday level versus the greenback since January 21.

The decline started late Tuesday in New York, when the pound fell as much as 0.9% to $1.2450 versus the dollar. The pound weakened as the Scottish parliament voted to hold a second independence referendum, granting first minister Nicola Sturgeon the authority to negotiate with Westminster on holding another vote.

The selloff continued early Wednesday in Asia and into European trading hours. The pound GBPJPY, -0.43% fell to 137.60, its lowest level since January 17.
The currency’s volatility is hinged to the U.K.’s preparation to exit the EU. Wednesday marks the start of a formal process under which Britain will trigger Article 50, a measure to formally notify its plans to leave the bloc, starting the clock on a two-year period of negotiations over the terms of the divorce.

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