LONDON, Sept 29 Reuters The pound rose on Friday after data showed the British economy grew quicker than expected since the start of the COVID19 pandemic, but was still set for its worst quarter against the dollar in a year.

The Office for National Statistics said Britain39;s economy in the second quarter of 2023 was 1.8 larger than in the final quarter of 2019, the last full quarter before the start of the pandemic.

Its previous estimate on Aug. 11 concluded the economy was still 0.2 smaller than before the pandemic, which had placed it at the bottom of the table among major advanced economies.

Sterling rose by as much as 0.52 to a session high of 1.2265, and was last at 1.2264. For the quarter, however, the currency has lost 3.3 in value.

Earlier this week, it hit a sixmonth low of 1.2211 under pressure from the ongoing rise in the dollar, which was heading for its strongest quarterly performance in a year.

Sterling has rallied in line with the dollar correction into this morning39;s market open, but there are no real UKspecific drivers that would justify a sustained sterling outperformance at this stage, ING strategist Francesco Pesole said.

The dollar is getting an outsized boost from a hefty rise in U.S. Treasury yields, which reflects investors39; belief that U.S. interest rates are unlikely to start falling anytime soon.

The 10year note has risen 45 basis points this month, compared with an 8 bps rise in 10year UK gilt yields , which saps the pound39;s…