The British pound broke through the $1.40 barrier on Friday for the first time since April 2018, amid optimism over the country’s speedy vaccination program.

Sterling was up 0.2 per cent against the dollar at $1.4005 in early morning trading as it headed for its sixth week of gains, after the UK hit its target of immunizing 15 million people by last weekend. The pound later eased back to $1.3987 at 10.02am London time.

Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at Think Markets, said the pound is likely to go even higher over time, “possibly towards the $1.50s in a few months’ time”.

“This will depend to a great extent on how the UK economy will evolve and is subject to the virus situation. Things are looking up and there is finally light at the end of what has been a long tunnel,” Mr Razaqzada told The National.

Meanwhile, the pound dipped slightly against the euro in early trading, however Petr Krpata, a strategist at ING, said the bullish case for sterling against both the euro and dollar “remains intact”.

“Against the euro, the pound should benefit from the faster vaccination process and a stronger second-quarter economic rebound,” Mr Krpata said.