Rishi Sunak, the UK Chancellor, had yesterday announced that the budget was canceled, and analysts expected him to lay the groundwork for more stimulus to help workers furloughed as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic. There is also some talk among experts that the Bank of England might now have to consider negative rates, despite the fact that the head of the central bank only just dismissed them as a future possibility. The ongoing Brexit talks are also weighing on sentiment, though the heavy hitters in the discussion both said that they were intent on having an agreement before the conclusion of the transition period in December.
As of 11:18 am in London, the GBP/USD was trading at $1.2764, a gain of 0.3222% and off the session peak of $1.27827. The EUR/GBP was lower at 0.9123 Pence, a loss of 0.3854%, with the pair ranging from a low of 0.91127 Pence to a peak of 0.91813 Pence in today's session.
US Labor News in Focus
Looking on to later today in the US, the weekly labor statistics will be released by the US Labor Department. The latest poll of analysts suggests that the weekly numbers will show a decline in both new claims and continuing claims for the week ended September 18th and September 11th, respectively. Shortly after, the head of the Federal Reserve Bank, Jerome Powell, will be speaking, with his comments closely monitored for clues regarding policy, interest rates and stimulus. That speech will be followed by one from the US Secretary of the Treasury who may offer some hints regarding fiscal policy plans relative to the hard hit economy in the wake of the pandemic.