The pound made gains against the dollar on Friday as the EU’s chief negotiator said that a trade deal with the UK was still possible before the end of the year. The pound was up 0.3% but remained 0.4% down against the euro.
In the short term, the main driver for the pound is still going to be the coronavirus, with some lawmakers hinting that the spread of the virus could alter the EU negotiation timeline. Though for the moment investors will remain focused on the June deadline that the government has set for a broad outline of a deal to have been achieved.
GBPUSD opened at 1.2974 and climbed across the day to a high of 1.3041 then dipped just before closing to finish at 1.3010
GBPEUR opened at 1.1547 and fell to a low of 1.1478 in the afternoon before closing slightly higher at 1.1493
The dollar was lower against many global currencies on Friday as there was a steep fall in the US government bond yields. The dollar index was 0.7% lower against six major currencies and was down 2.2% for the week, its worst week in four years. Though the pace of hiring in February remained strong, this did not alleviate dollar concerns.
The euro was 0.7% higher against the dollar.
EURUSD opened at 1.1236 and climbed to an afternoon high of 1.1347 before closing below this at 1.1316
