* Graphic: World FX rates in 2020 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
* Graphic: Trade-weighted sterling since Brexit vote http://tmsnrt.rs/2hwV9Hv
By Olga Cotaga
LONDON, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Sterling held above $1.30 on
Wednesday, clinging on to recent gains on the back of dollar
weakness, which outweighed the impact of a record drop in
Britain's economic output.
The economy shrank by 20.4% between April and June, when the
country's coronavirus lockdown was tightest, data showed on
Wednesday, representing the largest contraction reported by any
major economy so far.
"The direction of the print was never in doubt. The
drop-off... may be accounted for, in part, by the timing of the
lockdown as compared with other economies," said Kieran Cleere,
Director of Market Risk Solutions at Silicon Valley Bank.
Sterling was steady at $1.3048, close to the
five-month high of near $1.32 it rose to last week, and at 90.02
pence against the euro.
June’s GDP data, meanwhile, offered the first window into
the recovery as restrictions eased and the economy began to
recoup of the losses, growing 8.7% month-on-month.
"The easier post-lockdown economic gains may soon be
realised and so markets will be looking to establish how much of
this momentum will be sustained," Cleere said.
Kit Juckes, macro strategist at Societe Generale, said
sterling/dollar would most likely be determined by the direction
of the U.S. currency rather than by economic developments in
Britain.
(Reporting by Olga Cotaga; editing by John Stonestreet)