The pound moved sharply lower on Friday afternoon after Bloomberg News reported that U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May is likely to invoke Article 50 in early 2017. Triggering the article marks the start of formal negotiations with Brussels over the U.K.’s exit from the European Union and the decision cannot be revoked. Earlier media reports had suggested May would wait until later in 2017 to kick off the talks. The report suggests invoking Article 50 by April, ending “speculation that the U.K. would have several years to prepare to leave the EU,” said Neil Wilson, markets analyst at ETX Capital, in a note. “The less time the U.K. has to get things in order, the greater the market fears the fallout,” he added. Sterling slumped to $1.3058, from as high as $1.3164 earlier in the day. Against the euro , the pound dropped to €1.1536, down from €1.1614.
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