Sterling was up 1.1% on the day at US$1.2629, its largest one-day gain since Nov 1.

News that May’s margin of victory in the vote of Conservative Party lawmakers was 200 to 117 helped limit strength in the currency.

The result means May can’t be challenged for another year, though she still faces the daunting task of getting her Brexit plan past Parliament.

European Union leaders, meeting on Thursday, have said they won’t renegotiate the divorce deal.

“It’s hard to get too excited just yet, as the margin of victory was moderate,” said Mazen Issa, a foreign-exchange strategist at TD Securities.

Wednesday’s vote “helps to avoid a very bad outcome, which could easily push the UK government further into the realm of chaos,” he said, noting that in the short-term trading in the pound “will remain a chop-fest.”

Sterling reached as high as US$1.2672 in New York afternoon trading Wednesday and while it remains close to that, it is still near the 20-month low of US$1.2478 touched earlier in the session.

Wells Fargo’s Erik Nelson sees May facing an “even rockier road” than had been expected getting to a possible deal on Brexit.

“The pound could get a little bit lower in the next few days,” the currency strategist said. “There’s a pretty sizeable risk premium in the price and we need some clear signs the UK is going to avoid a no-deal Brexit.”