It is wellknown that the erosion of the status of sterling as leading international currency was caused by a series of large shocks accelerating a declining trend. The fading of the United Kingdom as a major political and imperial power was accelerated by the First and Second World Wars.
Turning to the monetary analysis, broad money (M3) growth continued to rise, reaching 10.2% in July 2020, after 9.2% in June. Strong money growth reflects domestic credit creation and the ongoing asset purchases by the Eurosystem, as well as precautionary considerations which foster a heightened preference for liquidity in the money-holding sector.