British pound hits seven-week high against wilting dollar

The British pound rose ​to its highest level since September ​15 on Wednesday, buoyed ‌by a ​weaker US dollar following the Democrats' sweeping victory in the midterms, while traders awaited the Bank of ‌England's policy decision on Thursday.

Sterling rose 0.63% against the dollar to $1.3495 at 10:22 GMT and was at 83.43 pence per euro, a touch firmer on the day. The pound ‌benefited from a fragile dollar, after Democrats won control of both chambers of ‌the US Congress.

The pound has been in sharper focus since British finance minister John Healey's budget, which laid out cautious tax and spending plans aimed at supporting households battered by "global ⁠economic ​storms." It has also ⁠drawn support from expectations of interest rate hikes by the Bank of England. Traders are pricing ⁠in a rate increase on Thursday, according to money market data.

Higher rates typically boost ​a currency. However, some analysts believe much of the optimism is already ⁠priced in, leaving sterling with limited room for further gains. "BoE hike pricing continues to look ⁠stretched ​relative to G10 peers, and valuation remains a clear challenge for Sterling," Goldman Sachs analysts wrote in a note.

Some economists polled by Reuters expect ⁠the central bank to temper market bets on three to four increases in 2027. "A 'dovish ⁠hike' would be ⁠a headwind for GBP, but we don't expect that it would do lasting damage with fundamentals improving," analysts at BofA ‌Global Research ‌wrote.