The pound jumped above $1.40 to a fresh post-Brexit high

pulse

January 23, 2018 9:44 AM

The pound has rallied aggressively during 2018, and is the best performing G10 currency over the past six months.

Sterling climbs above the psychologically significant 1.40 level against the dollar overnight.
During early trading in Europe, sterling drops back to around $1.3950.
The pound has rallied aggressively during 2018, and is the best performing G10 currency over the past six months.

LONDON — The pound moved to its highest level against the dollar since Britain voted to leave the European Union in June 2016 overnight, climbing above the psychologically significant level of $1.40 in the process.

By just after 8.15 a.m. GMT (3.15 a.m. ET) sterling has pulled back from those gains to trade at around $1.3950, a fall of roughly 0.3% from the beginning of the day's trading.

Here's the chart:

While most analysts expected sterling to post gains during 2018, the speed at which it has appreciated early in the year has confounded expectations. The currency is up by almost five cents against the dollar since the beginning of the year, and is the best performing of the G10 basket of major currencies over the past six months.

It may seem as though sterling's rise reflects growing confidence that the UK and EU will be able to strike a Brexit deal beneficial to both parties — and to a certain extent that is true. However, much of the appreciation is down to the continually weakening dollar as investors worry about the future direction of the US economy under the Trump presidency.

The recent government shutdown has only served to exacerbate those concerns.

Should weakness in the dollar continue, ING FX strategist Viraj Patel believes that sterling could reach $1.53 this year, a level higher than the days before the referendum.

pulse

JOIN OUR PULSE COMMUNITY!

Unblock notifications in browser settings.

Eyewitness? Submit your stories now via social or:

Email: eyewitness@pulse.ng