European session review: GBP mixed amid broad USD weakness and fear of second COVID-19 wave

GBP traded mixed against its major counterparts in the European session on Wednesday. It rose against USD, EUR, JPY, but fell against AUD and CAD.

The U.S. currency remained under pressure as the U.S. coronavirus relief package stalled in Congress. White House officials are reported to work "around the clock" with Democrats in order to bridge the gap between their $3.2 trillion proposal and the Republican's $1 trillion counter-offer.

The pound’s advance was also capped by fears of a second wave of infections. A new study by the scientists from the Academy of Medical Sciences claimed on Tuesday that the second wave of coronavirus could bring twice as many deaths as the first in Britain. 

Last week, the UK's PM Boris Johnson said that the next stage of lockdown easing would be postponed for at least two weeks due to a pick-up in COVID-19 infection rates. According to Johns Hopkins University, the UK has 307,257 cases of COVID-19, the 11th highest in the world. Overall, the total number of confirmed global coronavirus cases rose to 18,566,769.

Investors also remained cautious ahead of the announcement of the outcomes of the Bank of England’s (BoE) monetary policy meeting. The  BoE will announce its latest interest rate decision and rate statement on Thursday. It is expected that the British central bank will leave its policy rate and quantitative easing program unchanged.