Pound Drops On Covid Worries

The pound weakened against its key counterparts in the early European session on Thursday, as risk sentiment faded amid continued surge in virus cases in the U.S. and Europe and as U.K. GDP missed expectations in the third quarter.

The U.S. set a new mark with more than 136,000 new coronavirus infections on Wednesday, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

New York will impose a handful of restrictions on bars, restaurants and gyms to tackle several "hotspot" outbreaks, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said on Wednesday.

France reported 35,879 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, taking the total to 1.86 million and making it the worst affected country in the European region.

Data from the Office for National Statistics showed that gross domestic product grew 15.5 percent sequentially in the third quarter.

Economists had forecast an expansion of 15.8 percent after decreasing 19.8 percent in the second quarter and 2.5 percent in the first quarter.

In other economic news, survey results from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors showed that the UK residential market activity strengthened in October as guidelines permit the market to stay open during the second lockdown.

The house price balance advanced unexpectedly to 68 percent from 62 percent in the previous month. The expected balance was 55 percent.

The pound depreciated to a 2-day low of 0.8945 against the euro, compared to yesterday's closing quote of 0.8904. The pound is seen challenging support around the 0.92 level.

Final data from Destatis showed that German consumer prices decreased in October, as initially estimated.

The consumer prices fell 0.2 percent year-on-year in October, same as seen in September, as initially estimated.

The pound fell sharply against the dollar, touching a 2-day low of 1.3168. At yesterday's close, the pair was worth 1.3218. The pound is likely to face around support near the 1.28 mark.

The pound was down against the franc, at a 2-day low of 1.2062. The pair was quoted at 1.2117 at Wednesday's close. The pound may test support around the 1.18 level, if it falls again.

The GBP/JPY pair lost traction during the day, hitting a 2-day low of 138.65. The pair had closed Wednesday's deals at 139.37. Should the pound slides further, 135.00 is likely seen as its next support level.

Data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry showed that Japan's tertiary activity rose for the fourth month in a row in September.

The tertiary activity index rose 1.8 percent month-on-month in September, following a 0.8 percent increase in August.

Looking ahead, Eurostat is set to issue euro area industrial production for September in the European session.

The U.S. weekly jobless claims for the week ended November 7 and consumer inflation for October will be featured in the New York session.

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