GBP/INR continues to move away from recent lows. Currently, the GBP–INR pair is trading at 88.498, up 0.60% as of 6:40 AM UTC. On Thursday, the price bottomed out at 85.471, which was the lowest level since August last year.
The coronavirus pandemic is getting serious, and economists have realized that the impact on businesses and consumers would be devastating.
India Requires People to Stay Home
At the end of last week, India introduced lockdown measures to curb the outbreak. However, the country’s economy, which is already on its way to a slowdown, will suffer even more because of the “stay home” call from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The services sector, which accounts for more than half of India’s economy, is expected to experience the worst consequences. The PM told people in several regions to stay isolated. He tweeted:
“Many people are still not taking the lockdown seriously. Please save yourself, save your family, follow the instructions seriously. I request the state governments to get the rules and laws followed.”
Shortly after Modi’s call, the central government asked Indian states to enforce lockdown and take legal action against those who don’t follow the rules. Thus, 80 districts, 17 states, and 5 Union Territories, including the capital city of Delhi, have been put under complete lockdown until the end of the month.
India saw an increase in the number of new cases to 415, which is still insignificant compared to many European countries. Nevertheless, the government shut all passenger trains, Metro train services, and inter-state buses all over India.
Confirmed Cases in UK Continue to Surge
The situation has become more dramatic in the UK as well. Yesterday, the government said that 47 more people died from the virus, bringing the death toll to 281. The number of known cases rose by over 650 to 5,683 on Saturday.
A minister said that 1.5 million of the most vulnerable British citizens must stay home for the next 4 months.
“Today, we have to go further and shield the most clinically vulnerable people to save their lives. The (National Health Service) will be contacting these people in the coming days urging them to stay at home for a period of at least 12 weeks,” communities minister Robert Jenrick stated.
