Monday was not a successful day for the Pound as the currency slipped behind again following the drop in the GFK consumer confidence index during March. Along with this, the foreign exchange rate for Sterling against the US Dollar dropped to 1.22, while it dropped to 1.13 against the Euro, following the news that Prime Minister Boris Johnson was admitted to Intensive Care. However, after Downing Street released information about the move to intensive care being precautionary, the Pound improved overnight.
Things were not so good for the Euro as the single currency found itself under mounting pressure yesterday. There was a 1.4% decline in German factory orders for February, despite it being a smaller decrease than originally anticipated. However, it certainly reduced some of the confidence in the German economy and ultimately international payments. Despite the Euro struggling to gain any traction against some of its peers, it did increase by more than 0.5% to 1.07 against a US dollar that was weakening.
The appetite for risk saw a return yesterday and that saw the US Dollar fall. The demand for safe-haven currencies eased and this was down to there being no coronavirus-related deaths in China and new cases dropping in Italy and Spain. The same trend has been seen today and those losses may be extended during the day if coronavirus-related news is positive again.