Sterling edged up against the dollar and was flat against the euro on Monday, as risk sentiment across markets recovered somewhat after global growth worries sparked a broad selloff last week.
Concerns that the Delta coronavirus variant could derail the global recovery and worries major central banks would taper emergency stimulus sooner boosted the safe haven dollar last week at the expense of most major rival currencies.
Sterling had its worst week in two months against both the dollar and euro as traders sold off assets perceived as riskier.
The pound clawed back some of its lost ground against the dollar on Monday, edging up 0.2%, but was still pinned below $1.37. GBP=D3 Sterling had swung 1.8% lower against the dollar last week.
Against the euro, sterling was flat at 85.90 pence. EURGBP=D3
The improvement in sentiment was reflected in equity markets, with European stocks gaining ground in early trading.
“Last week, the pound tumbled against the greenback at a time when the financial world turned to risk off due to concerns over the spreading of the Delta coronavirus variant,” said Charalambos Pissouros, head of research at JFD Group, in a note.
“Perhaps market participants consider the pound as a risk-linked currency due to the UK’s large current account deficit.”
Pissouros added the pound could fare better than rivals in the coming months if the Bank of England tapered policy quicker than other central banks.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Iain Withers Editing by Tomasz Janowski)