The Pound is extending gains for a fourth straight session on Friday as its recovery continues. The Pound surged versus the collapsing dollar on Thursday, closing the session 2.6% higher at US$1.2203. This was the biggest daily gain for the pair in three years
At 07:30 UTC, GBP/USD is trading up +0.3% at US$1.2230 as coronavirus cases in US overtake China and investors look ahead to US consumer confidence data.
UK Daily Deaths To Peak 5th April?
The Pound soared across the board in the previous session as the Bank of England kept monetary policy unchanged. After two between meeting emergency rate cuts the central bank held off from taking fresh action to cushion the UK economy from the coronavirus hit. However, it did say that it was ready to take further action if necessary, which supported the Pound.
Today there is no high impacting UK data to digest. Investors will remain focused on coronavirus developments after 113 daily deaths were recorded on Thursday and 2100 new daily confirmed cases. If the UK is on the same trajectory as China, daily deaths will peak 5th April at 260.
US Consumer Confidence In Focus
US jobless claims surged to a record 3.3 million after more than 3 million Americans filed claims for unemployment benefits last week. This was up from 281,000 the previous week and completely eclipsed expectations of 1.7 million. The data shows the staggering scale of job losses in the first full week since cities across began restricting public gatherings, in some cases advising residents to stay in their homes and in some cases locking down.
With business no longer opening, staff are being laid off to cut costs or quite simply because the business has collapsed. These numbers offer the first nationwide picture of the damage to the US economy and they are disastrous on so many levels.
Today investors will look towards US consumer confidence data. Analysts are expecting consumer confidence to drop to 90 in March, down from 95.9 in February. However, given the immense growth levels of unemployed, consumer confidence could be significantly worse than forecast.
The number of coronavirus deaths in the US passed 1200 and confirmed cases jump through 83,000, more cases than China or Italy.
