Sterling gains vs. US Dollar after bank's results

Sterling experienced choppy trading against the US dollar yesterday, but finished little changed to close the day at $1.6438.

• The pound lost a little ground to the US dollar early yesterday morning, but made sharp gains later on as very strong results from JPMorgan reinforced previous earnings figures from Goldman Sachs and boosted hopes for a US recovery.
  
• The corporate earnings figures from JPMorgan undermined demand for safe haven currencies such as the US dollar, allowing the pound to stage a rally.
  
• However, sterling lost much of its gains yesterday evening, after the Philadelphia Fed Survey revealed a drop in the US manufacturing sector.
  
• The pound has continued to fall broadly this morning, as recent optimism gives way to worries about the corporate earnings figures from Citigroup and Bank of America, both due later today.