Sterling Helped by Tax Cut U-turn, Yen Steadies Past 145 per Dollar

Pound Sterling notes and change are seen inside a cash register in a coffee shop in Manchester, Britain, on Sept. 21, 2018. Phil Noble/Reuters

SINGAPORE/LONDON—Sterling rose on Monday after Britain reversed a plan to cut the highest rate of income tax, while the yen weakened past 145 per dollar, near the level where Japanese authorities intervened last month.

The pound touched $1.128 after The UK’s prime minister Liz Truss Monday made a dramatic u-turn on plans to cut taxes for the highest earners, its highest level since Sept. 22, the day before British finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng sent markets tumbling with a new “growth plan” to cut taxes and regulation, funded by vast government borrowing.