London, UK (CWBN)_ With the chaos of Brexit, the rapid spread of a new variant of the Covid-19 virus, and the recently imposed travel restrictions by European states, the Pound (GBP) to a turn for the worse this morning (21st Dec).
At about 11:30, the Pound fell by 2.1 percent against the dollar compared to the previous week, and was valued at USD 1.3237.
Bloomberg reported that the Euro also felt the blow the circumstances with 0.9 percent drop against the dollar, and was valued at USD 1.215.
With respect to stock trends, S&P 500 Index fell by 2.7 percent and Stoxx Europe fell by 3.4 percent.
Ten year treasury yields dropped by 6 points to 0.88 percent, two year treasury yields by 1 point to 0.11 percent, and British 10 year yields sank by eight points to 0.166 percent.
Rodrigo Cartil, Senior Currency Strategist with the National Australia Bank informed CNBC that “We should expect some volatility for the pound and what we’re seeing this morning is reflective of that.”
While the Covid-19 variant has already been identified in Italy and Netherlands, the current travel suspensions will stand pending the European Union’s coordination of their response to the outbreak in the region.
Moreover, Brexit talks continue to remain stagnant over three issues. Of the three, the British government continues to press the EU on the matter of fishing access to British waters, which has persistently derailed negotiations.
