- Pound (GBP) under pressure amid vaccine concerns
- Employment data & BoE Governor Andrew Bailey due to speak
- Euro (EUR) broadly trades mixed on covid concerns
- There is no major EZ data
The Pound Euro (GBP/EUR) exchange rate is . The pair settled on Monday -0.3% at €1.1614 after slipping as low as €1.1590. At 05:15 UTC, GBP/EUR trades -0.12% at €1.1599.
The Pound came under pressure in the previous session. Despite upbeat covid statistics with just 17 covid deaths recorded, the lowest level since September last year. However, concerns over the ongoing vaccine row with the EU is dragging on sentiment.
Attention will now turn firmly to UK data with the release of the ILO unemployment rate. In the three months to December the unemployment measure moved above 5% for the first time since March 2016 to 5.1%. The measure doesn’t include furloughed staff and seriously underestimates the true picture of the labour market in the UK.
Redundancies surged in the 3 months to December by 30,000 to 343,000, this number is expected to have risen further in January. However, the claimant count is likely to be a more accurate reflection of the labour market for now.
The outlook is improving. The Office of Budget Responsibility now expects unemployment to peak at 6.5% rather than 7.5%. However, with the UK still locked down, the numbers are likely to get worse before they get better.
In addition to the UK jobs data, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey is also due to speak.
The Euro advanced across the board in the previous session, thanks in part to the weaker US Dollar. The greenback traced US 10 year yields lower as bond bears paused for breath giving the Euro an opportunity to rally.
The Euro has traded mixed in recent sessions as the region struggles to pick its vaccine programme off the ground and the EU threatens to ban vaccine exports.
There is little in the way of high impacting Eurozone economic data due to be released today meaning that sentiment is likely to drive the common currency.
