Sterling rises as speedy vaccine rollout creates optimism
Sterling is higher against both the euro and the dollar on Monday as the fast vaccine rollout has fuelled hopes of economic recovery.
The rise soared as high as $1.3999 in Asian trading, after retreating from a three-year high on Friday amid inflation concerns.
In early London trading, it was 0.1 per cent higher at $1.3938 as investors took a chance on vaccination programmes lifting Britain’s economy.
Sterling rose 0.4 per cent to 86.34 pence against the euro, after falling to 87.30 on Friday.
Vaccine rollout and falling Covid-19 cases
Sunday’s numbers revealed more than 20 million people have received a Covid-19 vaccine jab.
Cases were down more than 21 per cent last week, and deaths have dropped by more than a third compared with the previous 7-day period.
Rishi Sunak is set to announce an extra £1.65bn to fund the UK’s vaccine rollout as part of his annual budget on Wednesday.
He will also declare £5bn of additional grants to help businesses hit by pandemic lockdowns, the government said on Saturday.
Simon Harvey, senior FX Market Analyst at Monex Europe, said: “Developments have yet again looked positive for sterling, with 20 million of the UK population having now received their first vaccine at a minimum and reports that fiscal stimulus will remain supportive in Wednesday’s budget.”
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