Sterling hits two-week maximum against dollar

The British pound hit a two-and-a-half-week high against a broadly weak dollar on Monday ahead of comments from the Bank of England’s chief economist Huw Pill later in the day and Governor Andrew Bailey on Tuesday.

Report informs via foreign media that sterling was last up 0.3% against the dollar at $1.2123, after hitting its highest level since Dec. 21, 2022 at $1.2174 earlier in the session. It jumped 1.5% on Friday after weak US data sent the dollar sliding.

Economic data on Friday showed the US services sector in contraction for the first time since May 2020, while a separate report showed robust jobs growth but hourly wages grew at the slowest annual pace in 16 months.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major currencies including the pound, was close to its lowest level in seven months.