Pound haunted by pandemic-era pain as variants rattle traders

Allianz Global Investors said it’s keeping a bearish bias on the pound, while Legal & General Investment Management Ltd said it dumped bets on July 14 that the currency will strengthen against the euro. Brandywine Global Investment Management, a sterling bull throughout much of the Brexit crisis, turned neutral on the pound at the beginning of June.

LONDON: Investors bullish on the UK pound have gotten used to brushing off concerns about Covid-19 infections and the post-Brexit future. Now, a sudden rethink on the global recovery is bringing those worries back into focus.

Sterling is on course for its first back-to-back monthly declines versus the dollar since March 2020 – when the coronavirus became a pandemic and spurred turbulence in markets worldwide – and only its second month of losses versus the euro in almost a year.