GBP/AUD is bullish on Monday, but it is still trading close to the lowest level since the start of April. Currently, one British pound buys 1.9693, up 0.25% as of 6:45 AM UTC.
Markets in Australia and the UK are closed in observance of Easter Monday. They were also closed on Good Friday, so there are very few fundamentals driving the price right now, with trading volumes dropping to the lowest level in months.
Despite the recovery attempt, the sterling has been under pressure as the number of new coronavirus cases and related deaths continued to increase. On Friday, the UK saw the highest daily number of COVID-related deaths in Europe.
UK PM Left Hospital on Sunday
The good news is that UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is out of hospital after being in the intensive care unit for about three days. He thanked the medical staff for saving his life, admitting that it could have gone either way. He said:
“The reason in the end my body did start to get enough oxygen was because for every second of the night they were watching and they were thinking and they were caring and making the interventions I needed.”
The British economy is struggling amid the social distancing and lockdown measures imposed by the government. The UK cannot negotiate the trade agreement with the European Union due to the pandemic.
Finance minister Rishi Sunak said that Britain’s gross domestic product (GDP) might decline by up to 30% in the three months to June. He gave the gloomy prediction as his colleagues were calling for lifting some of the lockdown restrictions, according to the Times. However, the publication didn’t mention the ten ministers that insisted on easing the restrictions. A minister was quoted as saying:
“It’s important that we don’t end up doing more damage with the lockdown. We’re looking at another three weeks of lockdown and then we can start to ease it.”
As for Australia, the virus outbreak hasn’t caused so much damage compared to the UK. The country has reported over 6,300 cases and 61 deaths so far.
