Investing.com - The pound extended losses on Wednesday, falling to fresh seven-year lows against the dollar as concerns over the economic impact of a British exit from the European Union mounted.
Sterling fell below the $1.40 level, with GBP/USD hitting lows of 1.3879, the weakest level since March 2009.
Sterling has now lost 3.4% so far this week after Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron announced that a referendum on EU membership will take place on June 23.
Several senior members of his Conservative party, including London Mayor Boris Johnson, have said they will be backing the campaign to leave the EU, in a blow to the prime ministers plans to remain in the bloc.
Cabinet ministers continued to clash over the referendum on Wednesday, after Justice Secretary Michael Gove said a new deal agreed between Britain and Brussels to keep Britain in the EU is not legally binding.
The pound also extended losses against the euro, with EUR/GBP advancing 0.45% to 14-month highs of 0.7896.
Fears over the implications of a Brexit on the euro zone economy pressured the euro to three year lows against the yen, with EUR/JPY down 0.59% at 122.79.
The single currency fell to three-week lows against the dollar, with EUR/USD down 0.29% at 1.0986.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.26% to 97.71.