LONDON: Sterling rose to its strongest in two months against the dollar on Monday, extending one of the currency world's best performances over the past month as it rode out volatility around Italy's constitutional referendum.The pound inched up 0.1 per cent against the dollar to $1.2739 in morning deals in London, the strongest it has been since before a dramatic Oct. 7 flash crash which briefly knocked around 10 percent off its value.It was still up 0.2 per cent on the day at 83.66 pence per euro on the day, despite a 1 per cent bounce in the single currency from overnight lows.Results of a monthly survey of service sector purchasing managers are due at 0930 GMT while political attention will focus on the government's appeal against the court decision requiring parliamentary approval for launching Brexit talks with Brussels.Sterling surged last week on signs the government may be willing to pay into the EU budget in return for access to the bloc's single market. "The relative outperformance comes from a repricing of Brexit risk, with many feeling more optimistic about the currency's outlook now that talk of access to the single market has come back on the table," analysts from currencies exchange LMAX said in a morning note.

Source: Economic Times December 05, 2016 09:20 UTC