2021.11.2911:21:00UTC+00Pound Appreciates As Omicron Variant Concerns Abate

The pound climbed against its major counterparts in the European session on Monday, as European shares rose, led by a gain in travel and energy stocks, following comments from policymakers and scientists to ease concerns over the impact of the Omicron variant of coronavirus.

Investors reconsidered the threat of the Omicron coronavirus variant after South African health experts suggested that it is showing mild symptoms so far.

German biotechnology company BioNTech said that it could determine in two weeks whether its current vaccine would be sufficiently effective against the Omicron variant.

Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said on Friday that the economic fallout from the new variant is likely to be less severe than the delta virus.

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said that the bloc is better equipped to respond to a risk of a fifth wave or the Omicron variant.

Data from the Bank of England showed that UK mortgage approvals and lending declined in October as buyers brought forward their borrowing to September to take advantage of stamp duty holiday.

Approvals for house purchases fell to 67,200 in October from 71,900 in September. This was the lowest since June 2020 and also below the expected level of 71,250.

The pound rose to 1.2368 against the franc and 1.3363 against the greenback, off its early lows of 1.2287 and 1.3319, respectively. The pound is seen finding resistance around 1.26 against the franc and 1.35 against the greenback.

The pound was trading at 0.8448 against the euro, up from its Asian session's low of 0.8484. The pound may possibly face resistance around the 0.83 level.

The pound rebounded to 151.67 against the yen, after falling to nearly a 2-month low of 150.69 in the previous session. If the pound continues its rise, 153.00 is possibly seen as its next resistance level.

Looking ahead, at 8:00 am ET, German preliminary CPI for November is scheduled for release.

Canada industrial product price index and U.S. pending home sales for October will be released in the New York session.