Thursday’s trading brought the British pound to a weakening of its exchange rate against major currencies. Behind the depreciation is data on the development of the island economy. It grew by only 1.1 percent between August and September, a slower-than-expected rate of GDP growth.
The number is all the worse because slower growth was recorded before the second wave of the coronavirus epidemic hit and anti-epidemic measures were restored. This means that the British economy entered the second wave worse prepared than when the country’s first pandemic wave erupted. In response, the pound fell 0.6 percent against the dollar and less than a percent against the euro.
Meanwhile, in the third quarter of this year, July to August, the UK economy grew at a record pace of 15.5 percent. Even this economic growth fell slightly below market expectations. Analysts say this could also bring further losses for the pound, given that the UK is undergoing a second blanket quarantine, which is expected to last a full month. This means that its economy may be in even worse shape at the end than if it were entering the lockdown from the economic recovery phase.
