The pound climbed, reversing an earlier decline against the dollar, as the BBC reported Conservative Party leadership candidate Andrea Leadsom is set to announce she is withdrawing from the contest.
Such a decision would leave Theresa May as the only candidate in the race to be Britain’s next prime minister. Leadsom is due to make a statement at 12:15 p.m. London time.
"Rumors that Leadsom is to drop out of the race are behind" the move, said Petr Krpata, a currency strategist at ING Groep in London.
"The battle for the leadership could have been protracted" which would mean "additional uncertainty for the already battered pound."
The UK currency climbed 0.1% to $1.2965 as of 12:05 p.m. London time, after earlier dropping as much as 0.8%. It fell to the lowest level since 1985 last week.