A senior international trade body director has said the fall in sterling following Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-Budget last month could be beneficial for exports.
As the pound slumped to an all-time low against the dollar days after the former Chancellor’s speech, before recovering slightly, the director general of the Institute of Export & International Trade (IOE&IT), Marco Forgione, said that the weakening currency could make British exports more competitive.
Mr Forgione said: “The weakening of the pound means that UK is more attractive for investors and our exports are even more competitive.”
The Independent reported that the weakening pound forced an intervention by the Bank of England (BoE) to temporarily purchase 30-year Government bonds after they hit a 20-year high, to stave off a “material risk to UK financial stability.”
There is also speculation it may introduce an emergency rise in interest rates to shore up the currency.
‘Huge opportunity’
Mr Forgione told GB News that the fall in the pound could be a huge opportunity for businesses to exploit and trade, particularly with the US but with other nations. However, he said it could hit British manufacturing by making imports more expensive.
Support needed
He said: “For the Government’s strategy to work UK businesses need the help and support to grow their international trade, including by taking advantage of the free trade agreements.
“We continue to call for the Government to establish a cross-departmental task force to support MSMEs, to give them the skills, to give them the knowledge and to give them the capability to trade internationally, because it is only by increasing exports that we are going to see a genuine turn around in the UK economy.”
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