The Pound Sterling slipped close to a 4-week trough versus its US counterpart during London trade on Monday after the government announced another set of pandemic-related restrictions. The Prime Minister had announced this past weekend that, with 20,000+ new infections seen daily, and a worst case scenario of more than 80,000 dead from the Covid-19 virus, a lockdown period of one month would be enacted across the country. One cabinet minister indicated that it was possible that that period could be further extended, if needed; another minister was hopeful that it would be lifted at the conclusion of the month. Currency strategists said that the market was already bracing for bad news on the Brexit so this news on Coronavirus was essentially taken in stride.
In London trading as of 10:52 am, the GBP/USD was trading at $1.2919, down 0.1507% and off the session trough of $1.28543, while the peak was recorded at $1.29547. The EUR/GBP was higher at 0.9013 Pence, a gain of 0.1289%; the pair has ranged from a low of 0.89899 Pence to a high of 0.90496 Pence.
Manufacturing PMIs Show Wide-ranging Improvement
Data releases from Markit surveys for the Eurozone were published earlier today. In Germany, the Markit Manufacturing PMI survey for October was better than expected at 58.2 versus a forecast of 58. It was a similar upbeat situation in France, Spain, Italy and the EU, with PMI surveys of 51.3, 53.8, 52.5 and 54.8, respectively. In Switzerland, the SVME Purchasing Manager's report for the manufacturing sector there came in below expectations at 52.3 against a forecast of 54.4. The UK's Manufacturing Survey was also upbeat at 53.7, versus a forecast of 53.3. The EUR/USD was trading higher at $1.1652, a gain of 0.0069% and off the earlier peak of $1.16598.