George Osborne’s stark Brexit alert weighs on sterling

British finance minister George Osborne told voters that leaving the EU would cost each household thousands of pounds a year and sap funding for public services because it would do permanent damage to the country’s economy.

Sterling fell to 79.69 pence against the euro at one stage yesterday, having touched 79.94 earlier, the weakest level since April 12.

The falls for sterling — which is down 14% since late last year — have dented price margins for many Irish firms exporting into Britain.