Donald Trump is pushing the pound higher for a second day
The pound is on a rare run of success, enjoying a second consecutive day of gains against the US dollar on Thursday.
Once again, the pound's relative strength is being driven by weakness in the dollar that itself is being caused by growing concerns in the markets about a Donald Trump presidency. Polls in recent days suggest that Republican Presidential candidate Trump is substantially narrowing the gap between himself and his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton with less than a week to the presidential election.
A Trump presidency would be broadly seen as a negative for the financial markets, and as a result, the prospect has pushed investors away from the dollar, in turn sending sterling upwards.
Around 8.25 a.m. GMT (4.25 a.m. ET) sterling has gained 0.3% on the greenback, hitting $1.2340, hovering near its highest levels since the start of October.
Here is the chart of how it looks on the day:
In what could end up being a busy day for the pound, sterling is also likely to react to the High Court decision on whether or not parliament should be allowed to vote on Brexit at 10.00 a.m. GMT (6.00 a.m. ET) this morning, as well as the Bank of England's latest interest rate decision at midday UK time (8.00 a.m. ET).
Against the euro, sterling is also climbing, gaining 0.22% on the day so far. Here's the chart:
