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COVID-19 impacts markets once more

Daily Currency Update

GBP - British Pound


The pound has been impacted this morning by the news of a new COVID-19 variant emerging in South Africa. Markets will be keeping a close eye out for any new cases of this variant over the coming days. As a result, there could be downside risks for the pound in the short term as investors could flock to safe-haven currencies such as the US dollar.

GBP/EUR has dropped back into the low 1.18s in response to this news. The pound can be much more sensitive to risk sentiment than the euro.

GBP/USD has struggled to gain any traction this morning and it remains just above the 1.3330 mark. There is little data from the UK or the US today. The pair is therefore likely to be driven by how investors deal with this additional injection of risk into the markets, following the new COVID-19 variant.

Key Movers

Other than COVID-19 news, it was a relatively quiet day for markets yesterday. In the US, markets were closed due to Thanksgiving. This meant there was little to report on between major currency pairs.

EUR/USD found some support yesterday as it pushed towards the 1.1250 mark. It has kicked on this morning and broken through that barrier. The currency pair is likely attracting the attention of investors as a safe-haven for now.

Expected Ranges

  • GBP/USD: 1.3360 - 1.3295 ▼
  • GBP/EUR: 1.1870 - 1.1785 ▼
  • GBP/AUD: 1.8630 - 1.8710 ▲
  • EUR/USD: 1.1230 - 1.1295 ▲