The Pound is falling for a fourth straight session on Tuesday, after tanking late last night on news that Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s condition has taken a turn for the worse. After trading higher versus the Swedish Krona for most of Monday’s session, the Pound Swedish Krona closed down 0.4% at 12.3954.

Today at 06:45 UTC, GBP/SEK is edging -0.1% lower at 12.3796 as investors await an update on the Prime Minister and monitor coronavirus developments in Sweden closely.

UK GDP To Contract -13% in Q2

News that Boris Johnson’s condition has deteriorated and that he had been transferred to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at St Thomas’ Hospital unnerved Pound investors and sent the Pound sharply lower late on Monday. The Prime Minister has told Foreign Secretary and Secretary of State, Dominic Rabb. to deputise where necessary.

The update on Boris Johnson came as the number of coronavirus deaths and cases in Britain dropped by a third at the start of the week. The figures boosted optimism that the measures that the government had implemented to slow the spread of coronavirus were working.

However, these measures come with a cost. Investment bank Goldman Sachs predicts that the UK GDP will contract -6.5% in 2020. The bank is forecasting a -1.9% contraction in the first quarter, followed by a -13% contraction in the second quarter.

Swedish Coronavirus Fatalities Spike

The Swedish Krona continues to rebound, despite persistent concerns over the Swedish government’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak. Sweden announced a sudden spike in coronavirus related deaths on Monday, taking the country’s total to 477 from 410. The number of confirmed cases rose to 7206, up from 6830. Unlike most other European nations, Sweden has refrained from implementing a lock down, despite criticism from many angles.

In stark contrast, Sweden’s neighbour Norway, has brought the virus under control through wide scale testing and early lock down measures. Norway is now considering how to end the lock down, potentially as from next week.

Today Swedish Krona investors could look briefly towards Swedish industrial production data for February, before the escalation of coronavirus in the country. The Swedish Krona could come under pressure if industrial production was showing weakness even before the coronavirus outbreak. Analysts are expecting to see a decline of -0.8% month on month after a 1.5% increase in January. `