Sterling falls below $1.30 on mounting coronavirus fears

The British pound fell against the US dollar today, as focus remained on the latest developments of the coronavirus health crisis, while investors parse its global economic impact.

China revealed that the coronavirus infections increased by more than 400, and its death toll rose to 2,700 people.

Cases of the deadly virus emerged for the first time in Austria, Switzerland and Greece, with more cases in Bahrain, Kuwait and Iran, while the virus death toll increased in Italy, South Korea and Japan.

The UK-EU negotiations are expected to launch next week, which will include discussions about future relations between the two sides after Brexit transitional period that will continue until the end of 2020.

GBP/USD fell 0.7% to trade at 1.2911 as of 20:23 GMT, after earlier hitting a high of 1.3009 and a low of 1.29.