2014.06.1706:42:06UTC+00Sterling climbs vs dollar

The sterling climbed $1.7011 versus the US dollar on Monday, the highest level since August 2009, before it eased back to $1.6986 in late trading. The currency also escalated to 20-month peak versus the euro at €1.2563.

While many forecasters anticipate the United Kingdom to be the fastest growing major economy this year, the United States tumbled 1% in the 1st quarter, pressing the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to cut down its growth forecasts for the world’s largest economy by nearly ⅓ on Monday. The US Federal Reserve is still awaited to reduce its bond purchases by $10 billion this week to $35 billion a month.

“If she is more dovish than we expect, we could see sterling climb as high as $1.70 and beyond. There isn’t that much, from a technical perspective, that will get in the way between $1.70 and $1.80. It will really depend on the global stances of the central banks,” said Kathleen Brooks, Research Director at Forex.com.