Oliver Mangan: Euro at 87p looks to speed of vaccine rollouts

Sterling appreciated steadily during the opening quarter of 2021, mainly due to the rapid rollout of Covid-19 vaccines in the UK – but other countries are beginning to catch up

The stronger growth outlook and hardening interest rate expectations have propelled sterling higher. File picture: PA

The opening quarter of 2021 saw quite a bit of movement on currency markets, with the dollar and sterling strengthening and the euro and the yen losing ground. In April, those trends have reversed somewhat, leaving it difficult to call the future direction of the main currency pairs.

It was generally expected that having lost ground in 2020, the dollar would continue to move lower in 2021. The currency, though, rallied during the first quarter, helped by a marked rise in long-term US interest rates and big upgrades to US growth forecasts for 2021 and 2022.