Government bonds, then credit, then money markets – and now currencies. Like those other markets, foreign exchange trading is moving away from extreme levels, and reversing long trends. Like other markets, this is driven by the “Great Unwind” – a disorderly retreat from excessively cheap risk which, Tuesday’s renewed stock sell-offs show, is not over.

On Tuesday, some fundamentals pushed markets further in the direction that the unwinding was taking them. UK inflation came in way below forecast, within the Bank of England’s targets. So higher interest rates were not the inevitability many assumed, and the pound dropped below $2 for the first time since June. The dollar has now gained 3.1 per cent against sterling in three weeks.