The Swedish Krona snapped a 4-session losing streak on Tuesday. The Pound versus Swedish Krona exchange rate dived -1.2% in the previous session to close at 12.3073. The sell off came after the Pound had advanced over 4.2% across just 4 sessions.
Today the Swedish Krona is extending those gains versus the Pound. At 06:45 UTC, GBP/SEK is trading -0.2% at 12.2829 as investors digest the latest coronavirus statistics and look ahead to manufacturing purchasing manages index from both the UK and Sweden.
Pound Slips As Death Toll Rises
The Pound is trending lower across the board on Wednesday after the UK experienced its deadliest day yet from coronavirus. The number of daily fatalities jumped 27% to 381 deaths. This was a sharp increase in daily deaths despite moves taken to control the spread of the virus. 25,150 cases have now been diagnosed.
Investors will turn their attention to UK manufacturing purchasing managers index. Analysts are expecting the final revision to tick lower to 47 in March, down from 48. The figure 50 separates expansion from contraction.
Swedish Manufacturing Up Next
The Swedish Krona advanced in the previous session, even after comments from the Finance Minister Magdalena Anderson, who said that expectations were for the Swedish economy to shrink 4% this year as the coronavirus outbreak hits supply and demand. In addition to growth falling, the Swedish government sees unemployment rising to levels which have not been seen since the financial crisis.
The government has introduced a slew of measures, such as subsidies for shorter working hours, loan guarantees, tax rebates and easier rules for claiming benefits in an attempt to cushion the economy from the coronavirus hit.
Whilst Magdalena Anderson expects a contraction in the region of 4%, she also remained optimistic that the economy would rebound quickly, with 3.5% GDP growth forecast for 2021.
Today investors will look to Swedish manufacturing data. Analysts are expecting manufacturing activity to fall to 49 in March, down from 53.7 on the index, whereby 50 separates expansion from contraction.
