The Pound attempting to claw higher versus the Euro at the start of the new week after falling sharply lower in the previous week. The Pound Euro exchange rate declined over 2.2% last week closing on Friday at €1.1193, just marginally above a 6-week low.
Whilst the EUR/GBP slipped on Sunday evening, at 06:30 UTC, GBP/EUR is trading +0.1% €1.1185, as sentiment shows signs of improving.
BRC Footfall Data Highlights Collapse In Shoppers
The Pound had fallen across the previous week against pretty much all the majors as investors attempted to price in the economic damage of the ongoing UK lockdown and as EU/UK Brexit trade talks were going nowhere fast.
Not only were UK GDP figures terrible showing a contraction of -5.8% month on month in March but Chancellor Rishi Sunak also warned that the UK was now likely in a significant recession.
Overnight data from the British retail Consortium (BRC) showed that he number of Britons visiting shops collapsed in April amid the lockdown measures. Footfall, which measures the number of people visiting shops, dropped by 84.7% compared to the same month last year.
The report comes after the BRC reported a 19.1% decline in total sales last month compared to the previous year, the biggest fall since the index started as people stayed at home to avoid contracting coronavirus.
Despite the poor data, the Pound is attempting to push higher as the investors acknowledge that the worst has passed. The number of coronavirus deaths increased by 170 on Sunday, the lowest number since March 24th and the UK is starting to slowly reopen its economy.
There is no high impacting UK data due for release today. Investors will look ahead to the release of labour market data tomorrow.
European Countries Ease Lockdown
The Euro is edging cautiously higher as countries across the region continue to ease lockdown measures. The reopening come despite the World Trade Organisation warning that infections numbers are bound to increase in the absence of a vaccine or a cure. Several nations fear further economic damage and are pounding ahead with reopening plans. Spain, for example, is seeing restaurants and cafes preparing to reopen with social distancing safety measures in place.
There is no high impacting Eurozone data today. Investors will look ahead to the ZEW German economic sentiment survey for further insight into how quickly any recovery likely to be.
