Sterling has clocked up its best start to the year against the dollar since 2009.

During this time, the greenback has become 'the whipping boy' for Donald Trump's trade policies. The pound has risen from around $1.25 on January 1 to $1.37 last night, nearly a 10 per cent gain.

That is sterling's best first-half performance against the dollar since sterling was recovering from a sharp downturn in the financial crisis. 

The rally so far this year has largely been driven by a dramatic weakening of the dollar as the US President's trade war rattled financial markets and called into question the currency's reputation.

Sterling rose to close to $1.38 last week – its highest since October 2021. The dollar has suffered its worst first half of the year since 1973 against a basket of global currencies.

Francesco Pesole, an FX strategist at bank ING, said: 'The dollar has become the whipping boy of Trump 2.0's erratic policies.'