The British Pound Sterling, on Wednesday, November 23, traded higher by around 0.05%, breaking back into positive territory and hitting above the $1.24 mark.
Sterling traded lower on Wednesday, before it made a recovery into positive territory and stayed into the green for the day.
Pound Sterling jumped as the UK’s Chancellor Philip Hammond announced an increase in spending on those areas of the economy that can help boost productivity.
Hammond announced a focus on improving productivity through infrastructure, creating the biggest government investment programme in over a decade, pledging to spend £23 billion ($28.5 billion) on technology, housing, and transport infrastructure.
Hammond presented the latest forecasts from the independent Office for Budgetary Responsibility, showing that it expects the British economy to grow 1.4% in 2017, down from 2.2% in previous OBR forecasts thanks to “lower investment and weaker consumer demand,” driven by the Brexit vote.
He noted that this is equivalent to the IMF’s forecast for growth in Germany next year, and better than forecasts in Italy and France.
