Pound Falls After Boris Johnson's Remarks

The pound declined against its key counterparts in the early New York session on Monday, after Boris Johnson, the favorite candidate to succeed U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May, vowed that he will take Britain out of the European Union on October 31 either with a Brexit deal or without a deal, if he wins the leadership race.

If I get in, we'll come out, deal or no-deal, on October 31," Johnson said in a campaign video posted on Twitter.

May will resign on Friday, after facing backlash from MPs over the withdrawal deal.

Besides Johnson, there are 12 other candidates to replace May as Prime Minister.

While calling for unity in society and country, Johnson requested voters to take part fully in the opportunities and success following the Brexit referendum.

Survey results from IHS Markit showed that the UK manufacturing sector contracted unexpectedly in May, for the first time since July 2016.

The headline IHS Markit/ Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply Purchasing Managers' Index declined more-than-expected to 49.4 in May from 53.1 in April. The score was forecast to fall moderately to 52.0.

The currency exhibited mixed trading against its major opponents in the Asian session. While it fell against the yen and the franc, it held steady against the euro. Against the greenback, it rose.

The pound declined to 0.8871 against the euro, following a high of 0.8825 seen at 4:00 am ET. Next key support for the pound is seen around the 0.90 level.

Survey data from IHS Markit showed that Eurozone manufacturing activity remained in contraction territory in May.

The factory PMI fell to 47.7 from 47.9 in April.

Having climbed to a 5-day high of 1.2660 at 4:00 am ET, the pound reversed direction and retreated to 1.2610 versus the dollar. If the pound drops further, 1.24 is possibly seen as its next support level.

The U.K. currency depreciated to 1.2588 against the franc, its weakest since January 15. The pound is seen testing support around the 1.235 region.

The pound fell back to 136.64 against the yen, just few pips short of a 5-month low of 136.62 touched at 12:45 am ET. Further downtrend may take the pound to a support around the 135.00 level.

The latest survey from Nikkei showed that Japan manufacturing sector fell into contraction in May, with a manufacturing PMI score of 49.8.

That's down from 50.2 in April, and it slips beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.