The pound depreciated against its major counterparts in the European session on Monday amid risk aversion, as many European countries tightened restrictions amid surging Omicron cases, while Democratic senator Joe Manchin pulled back his support for the Biden administration's "Build Back Better" plan.

The Netherlands reimposed a strict lockdown to curb the spread of the Omicron variant.

The lockdown has begun from Sunday and non-essential shops, restaurants, bars, cinemas, museums and theatres must be closed until January 14. All schools will close until at least January 9.

The Irish government had implemented a curfew from Sunday, ordering all restaurants and bars to close at 8 pm.

No indoor events will be allowed after 8 pm and any events taking place earlier would be limited to 50 percent capacity.

In the U.K., Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab declined to rule out imposing more restrictions ahead of Christmas Day.

The pound was down at a 5-day low of 1.3173 against the greenback and near a 2-week low of 149.53 against the yen, following its prior highs of 1.3245 and 150.55, respectively. The pound may challenge support around 1.30 against the greenback and 147.00 against the yen.

Easing from its early high of 1.2239 against the franc and a 4-day high of 0.8483 against the euro, the pound weakened to 6-day lows of 1.2174 and 0.8545, respectively. On the downside, 1.20 and 0.88 are likely seen as its next support levels against the franc and the euro, respectively.

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