LONDON: Sterling rose against the dollar and the euro on Wednesday as traders looked past economic data in Britain and focused on a planned April re-opening of shops in England.
Data showed that Britain’s economy grew faster than previously thought in the final three months of last year, with gross domestic product rising 1.3% from the previous quarter. It still shrank by the most in more than three centuries in 2020.
Mortgage lender Nationwide said British house prices grew less than expected in March. House prices fell by a monthly 0.2%, slowing the pace of their annual increase to 5.7% from 6.9% in March. Sterling was 0.4% higher at $1.3792 at 1500 GMT versus the dollar, which rose to multi-month peaks versus other currencies this week amid generous US fiscal stimulus and speedy vaccinations. After rising above $1.42 in February to its highest level against the dollar since April 2018, sterling lost some ground versus the greenback in March. Versus the euro, sterling was on track to its sixth consecutive monthly gain. It was 0.1% higher at 85.19 pence against the single currency. The pound has gained 4.7% against the euro so far this year, with analysts attributing the move largely to the pace of the UK’s vaccine rollout.
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