The Pound Sterling continues to have trouble finding its footing ahead of tomorrow's meeting of Bank of England policymakers. Currency strategists says that though Sterling recouped some losses against its main rivals, the Euro and greenback, downside risks remain in place and will whittle away at those gains. The news that the UK now has the highest death toll as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic is also weighing on the currency, even as the Prime Minister grapples with an appropriate response to the growing crisis. Some economists are saying that the economy in the UK is likely to be the worse seen in nearly 300 years.
The GBP/USD was trading lower at $1.2377 as of 11:07 am in London, down 0.5032% and off the session trough of $1.23580. The EUR/GBP was relatively flat at 0.8713 Pence; the pair has ranged from 0.86976 Pence to 0.87352 Pence in this session. The GBP/JPY was lower at 131.555 Yen, down 0.6854% and off the earlier low of 131.420 Pence.
EU Services Sector PMIs Continued to Slide
In the Eurozone, Markit surveys released PMI data on the services sectors for the individual states. In Germany, the April PMI for the services industry was better than expected with a reading of 16.2, helping the composite to achieve a reading of 17.4. It was a different story in France, where the two surveys both missed forecasts, with a reading of 10.2 and 11.1, respectively, against a predicted 10.4 and 11.2. In Italy, which had the second highest numbers of Corona virus-related deaths, the reading came in at 10.8, slightly better than expected but according to Markit, a clear and unprecedented sector contraction. The EUR/USD was trading at $1.079, down 0.4798% and off the earlier low of $1.07817.