Political risks rippled across foreign-exchange markets with the pound, Turkish lira and South Korean won leading declines, while stocks dropped with oil. Gold rose on haven demand. Sterling dropped to a 10-week low after the Prime Minister Theresa May indicated she prioritized regaining control of immigration during Brexit negotiations, while tensions between North and South Korea and debates on constitutional changes in Turkey put an index of developing currencies on track for the steepest drop in three weeks. Telecoms and real estate were among the biggest losers in European shares, while oil dropped for the first time in four days. Gold rose as investor holdings posted the first back-to-back increase since the U.S. election. Currencies, not bonds, have become the preferred way for investors to express displeasure with political developments, because they are seen as less vulnerable to intervention. May said Sunday that negotiations on Brexit will be about “getting the right relationship, not about keeping bits of membership.� A so-called hard Brexit may push the Bank of England to keep rates lower for longer, while weakening the pound and supporting foreign-focused companies in the main stock index. “Politics is a much more important factor these days for currency markets than it used to be,� said Adam Cole, head of global foreign-exchange strategy in London at Royal Bank of Canada. “There is a lot more political uncertainty now. � Currencies The pound fell as much as 1.3 percent to the lowest since Oct. 28; it traded at $1.2169 at 7:17 a.m. in New York. The offshore yuan was down 0.4 percent following Friday’s 0.9 percent retreat. The central bank set the onshore yuan reference rate 0.9 percent weaker against the dollar, though still stronger than some bank models predicted. The won fell 1.3 percent and the lira 2.3 percent, dragging the MSCI Emerging Markets Currency Index 0.3 percent lower. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed. The yen fell 0.3 percent to 116.67 per dollar. Commodities West Texas Intermediate crude dropped 2 percent to $52.90 a barrel, halting its advance below $54 as an increase in U.S. drilling offset signs that OPEC members are sticking to planned output cuts. Gold rose 0.6 percent to $1,179.51 an ounce as demand was forecast to rise ahead of the start of the Chinese New Year, while a U.S. labor-market report Friday showed some signs of cooling. Holdings in exchange-traded funds backed by the metal rose for a second day on Friday, the first back-to-back increase since Nov. 9. Rubber for May on the Shanghai Futures Exchange climbed as much as 5.4 percent to 18,995 yuan ($2,739) a ton after Thai plantations were inundated. Copper for delivery in three months dropped 0.2 percent to $5,578 a ton on the London Metal Exchange. Stocks The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.6 percent, on course for its biggest decline in more than a month. Deutsche Lufthansa AG tumbled as much as 5.6 percent after analysts were underwhelmed by the airline’s guidance update. Swedish bank Svenska Handelsbanken AB dropped after a downgrade at Credit Suisse Group AG. Futures on the S&P 500 Index were little changed. The underlying gauge rose 0.4 percent to a record close of 2,276.98 on Friday in New York. Bonds Spanish and Portuguese bonds led gains in Europe. Spain’s 10-year yield fell seven basis points to 1.46 percent, while that on similar-maturity Portuguese debt fell nine basis points to 3.92 percent. U.K. bonds climbed, with 10-year yields falling four basis points to 1.34 percent.

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