The pound fell hard against the dollar and euroas countries cut transport ties with Britain, where a fast-spreading new strain of the coronavirus had broken out. In Dublin, the main Euronext Dublin index fell 1.78pc, a large one-day drop but less than in Paris and Brussels. Irish ports remain open to UK trade, but flights were suspended for 48 hours. The busy channel ports and the Channel tunnel were closed leaving tens of thousands of freight trucks stranded. Against the euro, the pound fell more than 1pc, to a day’s low of 92.16 pence.

Source: Irish Independent December 22, 2020 02:37 UTC