UK's Sunak: Job retention scheme to be extended to end of October

The UK will extend the coronavirus job retention, furlough, scheme by four months to the end of October, British finance minister Rishi Sunak announced on Tuesday.

"7.5 million workers are now covered by furlough scheme," Sunak added and noted that they will keep funding at 80% of wages. "The government will ask employers to share the cost with the government."

Market reaction

The UK's FTSE 100 Index edged higher after Sunak's remarks and was last seen gaining 0.9% on the day at 5,992.38 points. Meanwhile, the GBP/USD pair was up 0.32% at 1.2375.