GBP/INR is steady in early trading on Monday. At the time of writing, one British pound buys 95.041 Indian rupees, up 0.10% as of 6:40 AM UTC.
The sterling continues last week’s bullish stance after Bank of England (BoE) chief economist Andy Haldane said on Saturday that the economy was recovering faster than all forecasts. However, he admitted that businesses needed better support and access to finance to invest in technology. Haldane was quoted as saying:
“UK GDP had, by July, recovered around half of its COVID-related losses, rebounding further and faster than anyone expected.”
The BoE also said in its policy statement last week that the economy was recovering faster than it had previously expected.
Earlier today, a survey by property site Rightmove showed that activity in the UK’s housing market continued to increase in September. The cut in property tax and other factors are fueling a post-lockdown surge. Asking prices have increased by 0.2% in September, after the August decline of 0.2%.
Second Wave of Pandemic Is on Horizon
Nevertheless, despite the upbeat economic reports and a pause from Brexit talks news, the uptrend in the British pound is capped by increasing concerns of a second wave of the pandemic in the UK and Europe. England’s Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty is about to say that Britain has reached a critical point in the pandemic and will experience a difficult winter. He will say:
“The trend in the UK is heading in the wrong direction and we are at a critical point in the pandemic. We are looking at the data to see how to manage the spread of the virus ahead of a very challenging winter period.”
Whitty’s warning may be followed by a national address by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson later in the week.
Despite concerns, UK Health Minister Matt Hancock refused to impose another national lockdown. Previously, Johnson said that such a measure would have a damaging effect on the economy.
As for India, the number of new cases has declined during the past three days, but it still maintains an uptrend.
