After falling sharply on Friday following the news of a new, more mutated, variant of Covid-19, the pound has regained some strength against the euro but is still struggling against the dollar.
As of tomorrow, face masks will be mandatory in shops and on public transport in England, while UK arrivals will have to take a PCR test. The government is also due to give an update today on an expansion of the Covid booster scheme. Markets will now likely be questioning the impacts of this new variant on the Bank of England’s monetary policy outlook.
The euro is weaker this morning after climbing almost 1% against the pound and dollar on Friday. Many countries have tightened their Covid-19 restrictions as the continent battles to contain the spread of the Omicron variant after 13 people arriving in the Netherlands on flights from South Africa tested positive for the new variant.
The dollar is stronger this morning and markets will now be waiting for a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell later today.
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