The Pound Sterling edged broadly lower during London trade on growing worries that the trade relationship between the United States and China is deteriorating. The US Secretary of State claimed over the weekend that the Coronavirus outbreak was the result of a Chinese lab creation; the virus has killed nearly 250,000 people across the globe, with the United States as the epicenter. FX traders have been seeking out safe haven assets as a result of the worsening risk sentiment which put the Pound Sterling on the defensive even as it aided currencies like the greenback and the Japanese Yen. Also weighing on the Pound are the continuing lockdown orders; analysts fear that the UK will lag recovery as compared to its European neighbors which are now starting to come out of quarantine.
As of 10:57 am in London, the GBP/USD was trading at $1.2440, down 0.4171% and off the session trough of $1.24144 while the peak was recorded at $1.25098. The GBP/JPY was also lower at 132.781 Yen, down 0.575%; the pair has ranged from a low of 132.511 Yen to a high of 133.659 Yen. The EUR/GBP was trading at 0.8794 Pence, a gain of 0.0683% and off the session peak of 0.88068 Pence.
Euro-area PMIs Show Worsening Sector
The release of April PMI readings from across the Eurozone had put pressure on the common currency. Markit reported that the manufacturing sectors in Germany, France and Italy had all contracted further last month; Germany's reading was slightly better than expected at 34.5, France's was as expected at 31.5 and Italy's reading was at 31.1, against an expected 30.0. The Markit manufacturing for the Eurozone was worse than expected at 33.4, down from the previous 33.6. The EUR/USD was trading lower at $1.094, down 0.3643%; the pair's trading range in the session is from a low of $1.09233 to a peak of $1.09829.