UK PM Johnson: This is the right moment but we’ve got to do it cautiously

Early Monday morning in Asia, Reuters came out with the news quoting UK PM Boris Johnson’s weekend comments suggesting the need for cautious as the nation approaches the “Freedom Day”.

As per the news, UK PM Johnson’s video message published Sunday said, “If we don’t do it now we’ve got to ask ourselves, when will we ever do it?”

"This is the right moment but we’ve got to do it cautiously. We’ve got to remember that this virus is sadly still out there," added Johnson per Reuters.

Key comments (from Reuters)

Britain has the seventh-highest death toll in the world, 128,708, and is forecast to soon have more new infections each day than it did at the height of a second wave of the virus earlier this year. On Sunday there were 48,161 new cases.

From midnight, laws in England requiring facemasks to be worn in shops and other indoor settings will lapse, as will capacity limits in bars and restaurants, and rules limiting the number of people who can socialize together.

FX implications

Given the example of a sharp rally in the Netherlands’ covid infection numbers following the unlock, GBP/USD traders are worried over the UK’s removal of activity restrictions. That said, GBP/USD remains pressured at around 1.3760 at the week’s start.