UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday confirmed that, as expected, "Plan B" Covid-19 restrictions in England will expire next week and the country will return to "Plan A". That means the recommendation for people to work from home will be dropped and that face mask requirements will be eased. The PM said the data vindicated the government's decision not to go with even tougher restrictions back in December, with the spread of Omicron looking to have peaked nationally and hospital admissions having stabilised.    

Market Reaction

GBP has been advancing in recent trade, boosted by hot Consumer Price Inflation data and perhaps also be Johnson's latest announcement. The pair currently trades in the 1.3640 area, up nearly 0.4% on the day.