Sterling holds ground as Britain eases lockdown

The pound has gained against the dollar for two weeks straight and consolidated near the $1.41 mark this morning.

It comes as Britain lifted several restrictions and made a huge leap towards reopening the economy. The easing of restrictions includes international travel and the reopening of bars, cafes and restaurants for indoor service.

“It has been a well-telegraphed move, but major re-opening in the UK today should continue to be welcomed by UK asset markets and the pound,” said ING strategists in a note to clients.

Sterling’s gains have been helped by a more aggressive Bank of England – which has begun tapering asset purchases.

The FTSE 100 has also provided a benchmark for the UK’s economic recovery – rising 11 per cent this year on reopening optimism.

The blue-chip index has pared some of those gains in the last few sessions on concerns around an Indian variant of coronavirus.

“Despite threats from the Indian variant, the scheduled re-opening will keep expectations of a summer UK recovery on track and feed into the BoE’s upbeat assessment of the UK activity outlook,” ING strategists added.

A new survey today shows economic confidence, the survey showed that job optimism among UK employers hit an eight-year high.