Despite Brexit negotiations being stalled and the Bank of England discussing negative interest rates, the British Pound was being traded at a higher value on Thursday. However, the UK currency will be restricted from advancing any further as consequence of the slow Brexit talks. 

Following a positive trading session yesterday, the Euro was buoyed after remaining supported by the prospect of the EU’s new coronavirus relief fund. This led the Eurozone’s business confidence figures to be more positive but also highlighted that the economic sentiment remained low this month.

The GBP/USD exchange rate is being traded at 1.23 as traders await U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement on ‘new’ policies against China. 

Chief Market Analyst at CMC Markets UK, Michael Hewson explained, “Having spent most of this week ignoring the prospect of an escalation of US, China tension over Hong Kong, despite various smoke signals throughout the week suggesting a confrontation was brewing, US markets turned tail sharply late last night on reports that President Trump was going to be holding a press conference later today on China.”

The greenback was being traded at a lower rate yesterday due to weak U.S. economic data, which saw the GDP contracting by 5% in Quarter 1. An estimation of 4.8% was previously made. 

On Friday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will be making a speech that will affect the USD’s value.