Sterling Pound Rallies to 2-Week Highs on New Year’s Eve

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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