POUND STEADIES AFTER RECENT SLUMP
The pound has recovered some of its recent losses, with analysts attributing the gains to the promise of a Commons debate on the Brexit process.
The pound closed 0.6% higher on Wednesday at $1.22. Against the euro, it rose nearly 1% to close at €1.11.
But the gains could prove short-lived. In Thursday's early Asian trade, it fell to $1.21 again.
Sterling's current slide began when Prime Minister Theresa May named a date for the start of the Brexit process.
On 2 October, she said the UK would trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty by the end of March 2017.
Traders have been selling the pound, fearing the impact of leaving the single market.
According to figures from the Bank of England, on Tuesday the pound fell to its lowest level in history on a trade-weighted basis.
The trade-weighted index measures the pound against a basket of currencies, adjusted to reflect the importance of nations as trading partners.
'Shift in tone'
MPs have been demanding to scrutinise the eventual plan to leave the European Union before it is finally agreed, and on Wednesday the government agreed there should be a "full and transparent debate".
But it added that the process should not "undermine" the government's negotiating position.