GBP

Sterling rallied against the euro on Friday as it continues to benefit from the UK’s vaccine rollout and the Bank of England’s (BoE) decision to keep monetary policy unchanged and interest rates at record lows.

Sterling has already could come under renewed pressure this morning as the EU is set to block exports of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine to the UK. EU commissioner Ursula von der Layen says the EU can forbid vaccines made on the continent being sent to the UK, a decision that has been described as “worrying” by one UK government source. To resolve the issue, Boris Johnson is set to hold talks with EU leaders. In terms of its impact on the easing of lockdown restrictions, Downing Street have previously said that vaccine supply issues shouldn’t delay the current road map.

Lastly, recently published trade figures have shown that imports and exports have plummeted by 27% from this time last year to 18 billion euros. British exports to the continent were worse with a drop of over 50% to 6.4 billion euros.

Key announcements

13:00 – USD – Fed Chair Jerome Powell speaks