The Sterling pound today rallied to 2-week highs against the US dollar on the last trading day of 2019 as investors bid up the pound and sold the greenback. The GBP/USD currency pair rallied higher despite threats from the European Union that the December 2020 deadline is inadequate to complete negotiations with the UK.
The GBP/USD currency pair today rallied from a low of 1.3105 in the Asian session to a high of 1.3211 in the early American session but was off these highs at the time of writing.
Investors ignored yesterday’s warnings by the EU trade negotiator Phil Hogan that trade negotiations with the UK would extend past 2020. However, it seems like investors are expecting Boris Johnson to fulfil his election promise to fast-track the talks and get the UK out by the deadline. Markets were also pleased by the UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid‘s announcement that the government would raise the country’s minimum wage in April 2020. The pair’s rally could also be attributed to a positive reaction to Woody Johnson‘s the US Ambassador to the UK prediction of historic trade relations between the US and UK over the next decade.
The pair’s rally was also driven by the dollar’s overall weakness as tracked by the US Dollar Index, which hit a low of 96.40 today. The bullish investor sentiment in the global financial markets also contributed to the cable’s rally as riskier assets rallied higher.
The currency pair’s future performance is likely to be affected by geopolitical events given tomorrow’s New Year’s holiday.
The GBP/USD currency pair was trading at 1.3208 as at 13:41 GMT having rallied from a low of 1.3105. The GBP/JPY currency pair was trading at 143.37 having risen from a low of 142.42.
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