Sterling dropped on Thursday, on track for its largest one-day fall in a month against the dollar, after the Bank of England cut interest rates and restarted bond purchases in a move to mitigate the impact of Britain's vote to exit the European Union.
The dollar, meanwhile, gained against a basket of currencies for a second straight session, as investors continued to balance positions ahead of Friday's crucial US nonfarm payrolls report for July. The focus, however, remained squarely on the British pound in the wake of the widely-expected BoE decision.
As well as cutting rates to a record-low 0.25 percent from 0.5 percent, the BoE launched two new schemes, one to buy 10 billion pounds of high-grade corporate bonds and another - potentially worth up to 100 billion pounds - to ensure banks keep lending even after the rate cut. Sterling sank 1.5 percent against the dollar in the first half hour after the decision and as BoE Governor Mark Carney started speaking. It was last down 1.4 percent at $1.3128.
"The BoE's dovish guidance and bearish outlook for growth will leave the pound at risk of further falls in the months ahead," said Joe Manimbo, senior market analyst at Western Union Business Solutions. "Still, market positioning and how negative bets on the pound have reached stretched levels could help to slow moves to the downside." The dollar index gained 0.1 percent to 95.674, holding above a low of 95.003 touched earlier this week.