GBP sinks after UK PM Boris Johnson taken to intensive care unit

The British pound gives up all of its gains after news that UK PM Boris Johnson worsened and was moved to the intensive care unit.  After testing positive 11 days ago, Johnson has been unable to shake off his fever and cough.  Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab was asked to deputize for Johnson when necessary.

Almost 5,000 people have died from the coronavirus in the UK, with the peak expected over the next 10 days.

The British pound plummeted as it is unclear what the emergency succession plan would be for the prime minister.  Markets hate uncertainty and this does not bode well for further steps in battling COVID-19 and for future Brexit trade negotiations. Cable remains very vulnerable here and may not find major support until the 1.2000 level.

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Ed Moya

Ed Moya

Contributing Author at OANDA
With more than 20 years’ trading experience, Ed Moya was a Senior Market Analyst with OANDA for the Americas from November 2018 to November 2023. His particular expertise lies across a wide range of asset classes including FX, commodities, fixed income, stocks and cryptocurrencies. Over the course of his career, Ed has worked with some of the leading forex brokerages, research teams and news departments on Wall Street including Global Forex Trading, FX Solutions and Trading Advantage. Prior to OANDA he worked with TradeTheNews.com, where he provided market analysis on economic data and corporate news. Based in New York, Ed is a regular guest on several major financial television networks including CNBC, Bloomberg TV, Yahoo! Finance Live, Fox Business, cheddar news, and CoinDesk TV. His views are trusted by the world’s most respected global newswires including Reuters, Bloomberg and the Associated Press, and he is regularly quoted in leading publications such as MSN, MarketWatch, Forbes, Seeking Alpha, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. Ed holds a BA in Economics from Rutgers University.