Which 1992 event caused a sharp fall in the British pound and turmoil in European markets?

Black Wednesday was the 1992 event that caused a sharp fall in the British pound and turmoil in European markets.

Black Wednesday occurred on September 16, 1992, when the United Kingdom withdrew the pound sterling from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, or ERM. The ERM required participating currencies to remain within agreed exchange-rate bands. Heavy pressure from currency traders made it increasingly difficult for Britain to maintain the pound’s required value.

The British government raised interest rates and attempted other measures to defend sterling, but the effort failed. The pound was suspended from the ERM and later allowed to float. The event damaged the governing Conservative Party’s reputation for economic competence and became one of the most politically significant financial episodes in modern British history.

Black Wednesday was primarily a currency crisis rather than a conventional stock-market crash. It still belongs in crash history because it caused major financial-market volatility and demonstrated how exchange-rate commitments could come under pressure from global capital flows.