The pound slipped against its major counterparts in the New York session on Wednesday, as the Scottish lawmakers are voting on a demand for second independence referendum, with the chamber set to back First Minister Nicola Sturgeon's proposal amid resistance from the U.K.

Members of the Scottish Parliament began a two-day debate on Tuesday, with a vote due today.

On Tuesday, Nicola Sturgeon warned that it would be wrong and unacceptable for the UK government to stand as a hindrance to the outcome of vote in the Scottish Parliament.

Sturgeon wants the referendum to held between autumn 2018 and spring 2019 when the terms of the U.K.'s exit from European Union are clear.

With the U.K. set to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon treaty next week, investors are worried over the disagreement between the nation and the EU of the financial commitments that could serve as a stumbling block for post-Brexit trade talks.

Investor sentiment dampened on growing uncertainty over the implementation of U.S. President Donald Trump's policy agenda, as the country's health care reform bill struggles to gain support from House conservatives and Senate Republicans ahead of an anticipated vote on Thursday.

Trump has suggested the GOP cannot move forward with tax reform plans until lawmakers keep the promise to repeal and replace Obamacare.

Data published by the Bank of England showed that moderate rates of activity growth in the UK had continued overall.

Growth is forecast to slow further during the year ahead as the fall in sterling fed through to higher prices, reducing households' purchasing power, according to Agent's summary of business conditions. On the other hand, export volume growth had picked up.

The currency retreated from early highs against its major counterparts in the European session.

The pound dropped to 1.2431 against the greenback, reversing from an early multi-week high of 1.2506. If the pound-greenback pair extends side, 1.23 is possibly seen as its next support level.

The pound weakened to 137.96 against the yen, its weakest since January 17. Continuation of the pound's downtrend may see it challenging support around the 136.00 region.

The minutes from the Bank of Japan's monetary policy meeting on January 30 and 31 revealed that board members stated the country's economic recovery is continuing at a moderate pace.

"Exports had picked up, mainly led by automobile-related exports to advanced economies and IT-related ones to emerging economies in Asia, with the effects of the slowdown in emerging economies diminishing. They would likely continue their pick-up trend for the time being," the minutes said.

The pound reversed from an early high of 1.2414 against the franc, dropping to a 2-day low of 1.2316. The pound is seen finding support around the 1.22 mark.

The pound, having advanced to more than a 2-week high of 0.8643 against the euro at 4:40 am ET, reversed direction and dropped to 0.8690. The next possible support for the pound may be seen around the 0.88 area.

Data from the European Central Bank showed that the euro area current account surplus declined to a 15-month low in January.

The current account surplus fell to EUR 24.1 billion in January from EUR 30.8 billion in December. This was the lowest since October 2015, when the surplus totaled EUR 23.4 billion.

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