Sterling hit a seven-year low yesterday as David Cameron defended Britain’s membership of the EU against a rising tide of opposition within his own Conservative party.

英镑昨日跌至7年低位，戴维愠蕓伦(David Cameron)为英国的欧盟成员国身份进行了辩护，试图挡住他所在的保守党内日益高涨的反对浪潮。

As currency markets took fright, Mr Cameron attempted to crush the insurgency led by Boris Johnson, suggesting in the House of Commons that the London mayor was only backing a vote to exit the EU in the June 23 referendum to advance his ambitions of becoming prime minister.

在汇市受到惊吓之际，卡梅伦试图挫败以鲍里斯约翰逊(Boris Johnson)为首的反对派。英国首相在下议院(House of Commons)发言时提出，伦敦市长支持在6月23日的全民公投中投票退出欧盟，只是为了推进他自己成为首相的野心。

With at least half of Mr Cameron’s 331 MPs expected to back Brexit and with Mr Johnson emerging as a powerful advocate of the Out campaign, the pound was down by as much as 2.4 per cent to hit a seven-year dollar low.

由于保守党331名议员中至少一半预计将支持“英国退欧”，以及约翰逊跳出来成为“退欧”阵营的强大代言人，英镑应声下跌2.4%之多，兑美元汇率跌至7年低点。

Rating agencies Moody’s and Fitch fuelled the concerns, warning that a vote to leave the EU could have implications for Britain’s credit ratings; bookmakers cut the odds of a British exit in the referendum to 2/1.

评级机构穆迪(Moody’s)和惠誉(Fitch)加剧了人们的忧虑，它们警告称，退出欧盟的公投结果可能影响英国的信用评级。与此同时，博彩公司将英国在公投中退欧的赔率降至2/1。

The vote will determine whether Britain will end four decades of commitment to the European project by pulling out of the 28-nation EU, an outcome Mr Cameron insists would threaten the country’s security and prosperity.

这次公投将决定英国会不会退出由28个成员国组成的欧盟、从而结束英国对欧洲一体化持续40年的承诺。卡梅伦坚称，退欧将危及英国的安全和繁荣。

“Overall, I think we are likely to see further sterling weakness ahead of the vote itself, as the debate rages and uncertainty undermines confidence,” warned Kit Juckes at Société Générale.

“总体上，随着辩论展开，随着不确定性削弱信心，我认为我们很可能在公投之前还会看到英镑进一步走弱，”法国兴业银行(Société Générale)的基特ㄠ克斯(Kit Juckes)警告称。

Yesterday’s selling left the pound as the worst-performing major currency of the day, adding to its weak start to the year. It is down 3 per cent since the start of January, the biggest drop of any major currency during 2016. Pressure on the pound intensified, leaving it down by as much as 2.4 per cent to a session low of $1.4058, its weakest level against the dollar since March 2009.

昨日的抛售使英镑成为当天表现最差的主要货币，加剧了它自年初以来的弱势。自1月初以来，英镑兑美元汇率累计下跌3%，是2016年跌幅最大的主要货币。英镑受到的压力昨日加剧，一度下跌2.4%，至1英镑兑1.4058美元的盘中低点，这是自2009年3月以来的最低位。

Moody’s said the “economic costs” of a decision to leave the EU would “outweigh the economic benefits”. It said it would consider “reflecting those threats to the UK’s credit standing by assigning a negative outlook to the sovereign’s Aa1 rating following a vote to exit”.

穆迪表示，决定离开欧盟的“经济成本”会“大于经济利益”。该评级机构表示，将考虑“在公投得到退欧的结果后，对英国的Aa1级主权评级给予负面展望，以反映英国的信用状况所面临的威胁。”

Fitch Ratings said an exit from the EU would lead to immediate “disruption” for many sectors of the economy and raise “significant longer-term risks”, reiterating that it would force the rating agency to reappraise the UK’s current AA+ grade.

惠誉评级表示，退出欧盟将导致英国的多个经济部门立即受到“扰乱”，并引发“重大的较长期风险”。该机构重申，这将迫使它重新评估英国当前的AA+评级。

The warning came as tensions over Brexit within government ranks rose sharply. Mr Johnson heckled as Mr Cameron ridiculed the mayor’s suggestion that a vote to leave might be used as a lever to secure more EU concessions ahead of a second referendum. “I have known a number of couples who have begun divorce proceedings but I do not know of any who have begun divorce proceedings in order to renew their marriage vows,” Mr Cameron said.

评级机构发出警告之际，政府内部围绕“英国退欧”的紧张气氛大幅升级。约翰逊提出，退欧的投票结果也许可以被用作筹码，在第二轮公投之前争取到更多的欧盟让步。这遭到卡梅伦的嘲笑。“我认识好几对已经启动离婚程序的夫妻，但我还没有遇见过有任何夫妻为了重温他们的婚誓而启动离婚程序的，”卡梅伦说。对此约翰逊发出不满的起哄声。

Mr Cameron’s attack on Mr Johnson confirmed the level of concern in Downing Street that the Brexit campaign had not only split the Tory party but that the Out campaign now had a charismatic figurehead.

卡梅伦对约翰逊的攻击证实了首相府的担忧程度：“英国退欧”运动不仅分裂了保守党，“退欧”阵营如今还冒出了一个有魅力的代表人物。

The prime minister claims that Mr Johnson is only backing Brexit in a manouevre to win Eurosceptic Tory support in a future leadership bid.

英国首相称，约翰逊支持“英国退欧”别有用心，其真正目的是赢得持欧洲怀疑论的保守党人士的拥护，为未来争夺党内领导权铺平道路。

“I’m not standing for re-election, I’ve no other agenda other than what’s best for the country,” Mr Cameron said pointedly.

“我不会寻求连任，除了国家的最佳利益外，我没有其它议程，”卡梅伦意有所指地表示。

But his appearance was met with hostile Tory questions and dissent.

但他的露面遭遇了持敌意态度的保守党人士的质疑和异见。