Good morning,
The struggles of sterling continue with GBP-USD falling to 1.3275 as Omicron continues to weigh heavily on markets and Brexit tensions escalate. The UK health agency reported ten more cases of the Omicron variant have been detected in the UK, bringing the total to 42. A total of 53,945 new Covid cases were reported on Thursday, the highest daily figure since 17 July.
Germany has imposed restrictions on unvaccinated individuals and could make jabs obligatory from February. Vaccination could become mandatory in Germany from February, the outgoing chancellor, Angela Merkel, has announced. Germany will also impose sweeping nationwide restrictions on social contact for unvaccinated people, in what local media is describing as a “lockdown for the unvaccinated”.
The UK-EU impasse over the Northern Ireland Protocol and the worsening row over the post-Brexit fishing rights between France and Britain is also having a damaging impact on the strength of the pound.
Today the US releases key jobs data such as non-farm payroll, average earnings and unemployment rate.
Have a great weekend.
Author: William Jones, Senior Relationship Manager.
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