The Pound Sterling was able to maintain its rally versus the US Dollar and remained steady against the common currency Euro during London trade on Tuesday. The Pound has experienced a tremendous selloff against the safe-haven US Dollar which has experienced great favor as confidence has eroded in the financial markets. The concerns over the Coronavirus and how the UK government has approached it, are also weighing on sentiment. Late yesterday, the Prime Minister gave the stay at home order in an effort to slow the spread. In the US, the efforts have been largely piecemeal given the lack of direction from the federal government; the states are individually mandating requirements.
As of 10:21 am in London, the GBP/USD was trading higher at $1.1732, a gain of 1.6472%; the pair has ranged from a low of $1.14804 to a high of $1.17423. The EUR/GBP is lower at 0.9258 Pence, a loss of 0.39% and off the session low of 0.92511 Pence while the high was recorded at 0.93349 Pence.
UK and EU PMI Reports Mixed Bag
PMI reports for the UK and the Eurozone were released earlier today, with most of them largely disappointing. The UK PMIs were mixed, with the manufacturing PMI unexpectedly higher at 48 against a predicted 45, and the services sector PMI at 35.7, below the expected 45. In the Eurozone, the results were also mixed. In Germany, the PMI for the manufacturing sector was higher at 45.7; analysts had predicted a fall to 39.6. The German services sector was sharply lower at 34.5, against an expected 42.3. The German composite survey was also lower at 37.2, against a forecast of 40.6. The Eurozone saw similar sentiment with the manufacturing sector higher than expected, and both the services and composite failing to meet analysts' expectations; the readings were, respectively, 44.8, 28.4 and 31.4. The Euro saw little impact from the news, with the EUR/USD trading at $.10871, a gain of 1.2610.