Pound Drops As Weak China, German Data Dent Risk Appetite
June 08 2020 - 4:42AM
RTTF2
The pound fell against its major counterparts in the European
session on Monday, as weak China trade data and German industrial
production deteriorated sentiment.
Data from Destatis showed that German industrial production
declined at the fastest rate since the series began in 1991.
Industrial output decreased 25.3 percent year-on-year in April,
following an 11.3 percent fall in the previous month. This was the
biggest fall on record.
Month-on-month, industrial production plunged 17.9 percent
versus a revised 8.9 percent drop in March. Economists had forecast
a monthly fall of 16 percent.
Data released by the General Administration of Customs over the
weekend showed that Chinese exports decreased 3.3 percent on a
yearly basis in May. At the same time, imports logged a sharp
contraction of 16.7 percent.
The plunge in imports drove the country's trade surplus up
sharply to $62.9 billion from $45.3 billion in April.
The Sunday Times reported that the U.K. government is planning
to relax controls for pubs, cafes and restaurants, allowing them to
serve in outside areas.
Places of worship will reopen for private prayer from June 15,
while hairdressers will be allowed to reopen before July 4.
The pound dropped to 1.2163 against the franc and 1.2628 against
the greenback, from its early highs of 1.2244 and 1.2729,
respectively. The currency is likely to find support around 1.18
against the franc and 1.23 against the greenback.
The pound edged down to 0.8929 against the euro, after rising to
a 5-day high of 0.8881 at 12:45 am ET. If the pound slides further,
0.92 is possibly seen as its next support level.
The pound reversed from an early high of 139.58 against the yen,
with the pair trading at 138.12. The next possible support for the
pound is seen around the 133.00 level.
Looking ahead, at 8:15 am ET, Canada housing starts for May are
scheduled for release.
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