The dollar is gaining ground as the pound sterling fluctuates heavily on Brexit votes

LONDON (Reuters) – The dollar appreciated on Thursday after the fall of the pound after a tense vote on Brexit, which failed to clarify the prospects for relations between Britain and the EU. European.

The pound rose nearly 2% on Wednesday night after UK legislators voted against a potentially messy departure from the European Union.

The pound fell 0.7% Thursday to 1.3241 dollar, but at 8.30 GMT had started to increase again. It exceeded $ 1.33 while traders were planning a parliamentary vote later in the day that should call a short deadline for Brexit.

Analysts have warned against betting on maintaining the strength of the sterling. Less than three weeks before Britain's planned departure from the European Union on March 29, there are still many uncertainties as to what form the Brexit will take. British lawmakers are expected to vote Thursday to delay the move.

"The most sensible approach seems to be to hedge the downside risk of sterling, which we believe exceeds the upside potential for the coming months," said UBS in a note to its clients.

The dollar index, an indicator of its strength against six other major currencies, remained stable at 96.6554. It lost 0.4% overnight, reaching at one point a nine-day low of 96.385.

The Australian dollar is down 0.35% to 0.7068 USD, driven by lower local bond yields and generally weak economic data from China, Australia's largest trading partner.

(Graph: World exchange rate in 2019 tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh)