Good morning,
The pound has opened the new week on the back foot, following the announcement by UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, that England should move to a second national lockdown as of Thursday. With an increased infection rate across England, scientists predict the fatality rate being higher than that in the Spring, when the outbreak first materialised, with the case count currently tracking higher than the predicted worse case scenario. The Government will vote on the measures on Wednesday in the House of Commons, which will see all non-essential businesses close their doors once again. In an attempt to ‘save Christmas’ the measures will last for a 4-week period and then return to the tiered approach for virus hotspots. The furlough scheme which was due to end on the 31st of October, is due to be extended for the period. After the open of the new week, GBPUSD is currently sat just above 1.2850 at the time of writing.
Today will see a host of PMI data released across the Eurozone, Canada and the US. Markets will be looking to the manufacturing release from the US at 16:00 GMT for an indication to further economic recovery. This has the potential to squeeze GBPUSD, with the 1.2680 mark the next step lower, rates which have not been seen since late September.
Have a good day. 
Author: Jack Nicholls, Relationship Manager
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