Sterling reaches one month high against the Dollar

The pound reached its highest level in a month against the dollar, after a High Court Ruling that the British Parliament had the power to decide when the country will begin leaving the European Union (EU), not the Prime Minister, Theresa May. The pound was up by 1.6 percent to reach $1.2492 in afternoon trading, and it was up 2 percent against the euro to reach €1.1263. The resurgence of the pound was also helped by the announcement of current Bank of England governor Mark Carney, to stay until 2019, which will be a year longer than his contract stipulated. Carney also announced a positive change to the Bank of England’s growth forecasts. On the other side of the world, the dollar’s performance was weakened by the growing expectation that Donald Trump might win the presidency. Even the release of employment figures couldn’t curtail the concerns over the stability of the US economy.

The situation in the United Kingdom has also improved significantly since the time of the Prime Minister’s warning that the country should brace for a hard brexit, which caused the pound to reach its lowest level in three decades. Since then, Theresa May has met with the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, with the outcome being a softened stance by the ruling Conservative Party. May was also dealt a blow yesterday, when the court ruled against her insistence on being the deciding factor on when the country triggers Article 50. She had initially debuted March 2017 as the time to trigger the Article, but with parliament now in play, it is hoped that the country would have more time to prepare.