For nearly half a decade, the pound has been whipsawed by Brexit negotiations -- yet news that a trade deal has been reached saw sterling curb its advance.
It was up 0.3% against the dollar to $1.3534 as of 6:25 p.m. in London, having earlier risen as much as 0.9%. Much of the optimism is already baked in, with the currency nearly 10% stronger since the end of June and the relative cost of hedging pound weakness over the next year at its lowest since March.
