Pound dragged down by falling equities

The pound weakened against the US dollar on Friday, losing more than a cent as falling equities made investors more risk-averse.

• The pound made strong gains against the US dollar on Thursday after the Bank of England shocked markets by announcing it would leave its quantitative easing programme at £125bn.
  
• But the pound began falling against the dollar on Friday, as the greenback gained support from falling equity markets and worries about upcoming US corporate earnings figures.
  
• British shares hit a 10-week low on Friday, undermined by falling oil prices and a downbeat earnings outlook from US oil company Chevron Corp.
  
• The pound has continued falling broadly this morning, losing another 1½ cents to the US dollar as the British currency comes under broad selling pressure amid struggling equities and growing risk aversion.