The Pound Sterling was steady during London trade on Thursday, albeit moving lower versus the US Dollar. Markets are waiting for news on the extension of the lockdown in Britain which is intended to slow the Coronavirus spread. Experts believe that the British government will call for an additional three weeks self-quarantine at today's meeting. Markets have largely priced this likelihood into the Pound and that Sterling sentiment is being driven largely by the strength of the greenback and potential that the Euro will weaken further.
As of 11:07 am in London, the GBP/USD was trading at $1.2465, a loss of 0.4678% but moving away from the session trough of $1.24570. The EUR/GBP was higher at 0.8709 Pence, a gain of 0.0287%; the pair has ranged from a low of 0.87009 Pence to a peak of 0.87286 Pence.
Market Focus on US Labor Data
Later today, market's attention will focus on the release of labor data from the United States. Analysts expect that initial jobless claims for the week ended April 10th will have slowed to 5.1 million, far fewer than last week's 6.6 million. Continuing claims are expected to have surged to 13.5 million, up from nearly 7.5 million the week before. Data on housing starts is also expected out with analysts predicting a fall to 1.3 million in March on a month-over-month basis, down from nearly 1.6 million in February.