Pound Rallies Despite Record COVID-19 Deaths and Johnson in ICU

The Sterling pound today rallied higher against the US dollar despite the fact that the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson being hospitalised in ICU. The GBP/USD currency pair posted gains as buyers stepped in capitalising on the greenback’s fall from recent highs.
The GBP/USD currency pair today rallied from an opening low of 1.2217 in the Asian session to a high of 1.2384 in the mid-London session but was off these highs at the time of writing.
The risk-off mood primarily drove the pair’s rally as investors bought up riskier assets and sold the safe-haven US dollar. Investor risk-appetite remained elevated amid an uptick in global equity markets, as several countries reported lower coronavirus deaths and new infections. Bullish investors ignored the fact that COVID-19 infections and deaths were on the rise in the UK even as Boris Johnson remains hospitalised. However, Dominic Raab is currently deputising Boris Johnson whenever needed as officials expect the Prime Minister will recover and resume his duties soon.
The sell-off in the greenback as tracked by the US Dollar Index, which hit a low of — today also boosted the pair. The release of the downbeat UK Halifax house prices index for March in the early London session had a muted impact on the cable.
The currency pair’s future performance is likely to be affected by geopolitical events given tomorrow’s empty UK and US dockets.
The GBP/USD currency pair was trading at 1.2328 as at 17:08 GMT having rallied from a low of 1.2217. The GBP/JPY currency pair was trading at 134.31 having risen from a low fo 133.10.

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