Nationwide lockdown

‘Germany won’t blink on fiscal stimulus until crisis hits home’. Germany – the most fiscally equipped European nation – is unlikely to boost spending to curb the economic downfall of COVID-19 unless the virus significantly hits home. Economists suggest German policy intervention will be ‘reactive rather than proactive’. (Bloomberg)
‘Italy goes into nationwide lockdown as virus numbers spiral’. Italy has become the first nation to attempt a nationwide lockdown to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Businesses have called for the government to offer guarantees and investment to support a frozen economy. (Bloomberg)

Today's rates and data

Overnight, oil prices found a floor and bounced back from yesterday’s lows, supporting the Russian Rouble in the process. Equities stabilised along with sovereign debt yields, but the risk of a further sell-off in risk assets has not died out. Equity futures point to an uptick in indexes across Europe and the US today.

Today's data

French industrial production for January missed expectations, coming in at 1.2%, but improved from December’s -2.8%.
Italian Industrial Production is predicted to bounce back from December’s -2.7% growth, coming in a 1.6%.
Eurozone GDP growth is forecast to show a modest 0.1% expansion in the final quarter of 2019.

Interbank rates:

GBP/USD: $1.3040
GBP/EUR: €1.1480
EUR/USD: $1.1350