UK pound sinks more after May delays Brexit vote

The pound has fallen further after British Prime Minister Theresa May canceled a vote on her Brexit deal and struck a defiant tone in an address to parliament.

The British currency, which is the main gauge of international investors’ confidence in the country’s economy, fell to a 20-month low of $1.2515, down a sharp 1.7 percent on the day.

The main British stock index usually gets a boost from a weaker currency, as it helps the earnings of the many multinationals listed on it. But the FTSE 100 was also down, by 0.5 percent on the day, underscoring the depth of investors’ concern.

British Prime Minister Theresa May says her Brexit divorce deal with the European Union is still “the best deal that is negotiable,” as she aimed to win Parliament’s support.

In a stinging statement on Monday to the House of Commons, May reminded lawmakers that any Brexit deal would require compromise.

She then asked whether or not the House of Commons really wanted to deliver Brexit - and if it was willing to re-open the political division within the country by challenging the 2016 vote of the British people to leave the bloc.

May’s comments came after she postponed the vote in parliament on her EU divorce deal, acknowledging she would have lost Tuesday’s vote by a “significant margin.” The decision throws her Brexit plans into chaos.