The pound weakened slightly against both the euro and the dollar yesterday, possibly due to rising cases of the Delta variant and reports that the June 21 ‘Freedom Day’ could be delayed.
On Sunday, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that it’s “too soon” to say whether the reopening will be delayed or not. Since then, tougher advice regarding COVID-19 restrictions has been issued in the north-west of England where cases are rising.
The Prime Minister told his cabinet yesterday that “while the relationship between cases and hospitalisations has changed, we must continue to look at the data carefully ahead of making a decision on Step 4”. A decision is expected to be made on June 14.
It’s mostly a light week for economic data releases until Friday, when we’ll see industrial production and GDP figures. The UK’s GDP is expected to have grown by 1.6% in the three months to April this year.
