Monday was a rather mixed day for the Pound as the foreign exchange rate indicated that it remained motionless against the Euro at 1.1176 although there were some gains against the US Dollar at 1.2201. However, the currency is likely to be affected by the number of people claiming unemployment which increased by 856,500 in April. This painted a fairly bleak picture for the UK economy, although it was expected given the lockdown measures that have been implemented during this time.
Demand for the Euro dropped yesterday after the Bundesbank indicated that there is a risk of a deeper contraction during the second quarter in Germany. Despite this, the weakening US Dollar did offer some support and news, while the leaders of both Germany and France have supported the Eurozone’s recovery fund plan.
It wasn’t a good day for the US dollar as investors refrained from making international payments into the safe-haven currency. This came off the back that the Federal Reserve has indicated that it could be forced to take further action as a way of kickstarting the economy. Despite this, further figures released this week could drive the US Dollar down.