UK PM Johnson: We are establishing a new COVID alert system run by a new joint biosecurity centre

Reuters reporting on Britain, Prime Minister Boris Johnson lockdown statements today, notes how the government is now setting out plans to begin gradually easing some of the measures which have shut down much of the economy for nearly seven weeks:

"This is not the time simply to end the lockdown this week," Johnson said in a televised address. "Instead we are taking the first careful steps to modify our measures."

From Monday, those who cannot work from home will be actively encouraged to go to work, he said, and from Wednesday people will be allowed to take unlimited amounts of outdoor exercise as long as they adhere to social distancing guidelines.

"You can sit in the sun in your local park, you can drive to other destinations, you can even play sports but only with members of your own household," he said.

GBP/USD update

• GBP/USD Forecast: Buying interest limited ahead of Johnson’s speech

GBP/USD has been firmer of late, completing a 50% mean reversion of the end of April drop. While there is some commitment here to getting the UK economy on track by relaxing lockdown measures, insofar as the UK carries a significant current account deficit and along with last month’s news that the latest round of post-Brexit talks between the UK and the EU did not go well, the pound should continue to struggle.