FOREX-Sterling falls after PM Johnson enters hospital over coronavirus symptoms

* Graphic: World FX rates in 2020 https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E
* Sterling shaken after PM Johnson admitted to hospital
* Japan on brink of state of emergency -local media
* Oil currencies rattled by failure to end price war

By Stanley White
TOKYO, April 6 (Reuters) - The pound fell against the dollar
and euro on Monday after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson
was admitted to hospital for tests after showing persistent
symptoms of the coronavirus.
The yen fell against the dollar and the antipodean
currencies after Japanese media reported Prime Minister Shinzo
Abe may declare a state of emergency as early as Tuesday to curb
an alarming acceleration in coronavirus infections.
The dollar was on the back foot against the euro after data
last week showed companies in the United States shed jobs at
break-neck speed as the COVID-19 pandemic leads the global
economy into a deep recession.
"When a head of state or government is stricken like this,
it will cause concern for holders of sterling and sterling
assets," said Masafumi Yamamoto, chief currency strategist at
Mizuho Securities in Tokyo.
"Coronavirus cases in Japan may not peak for another month,
so the markets will think that now it's Japan's turn. A state of
emergency is necessary, but this could be yen negative."
The pound GBP=D3 fell 0.33% to $1.2227 on Monday. Against
the euro EURGBP=D3 , it fell 0.37% to 88.51 pence.
Johnson was admitted in what Downing Street said was a
"precautionary step" because he was showing persistent symptoms
of COVID-19 10 days after testing positive for the novel
coronavirus. Also weighing on sterling is that Britain's constitution -
an unwieldy collection of sometimes ancient and contradictory
precedents - offers no formal deputy or caretaker who would take
over if Johnson cannot continue to lead. The coronavirus, which emerged in China late last year, has
turned into a pandemic that has infected more than a million
people, killed over 68,000 and paralysed large swathes of the
global economy. In the offshore market, China's yuan CNH=D3 held steady at
7.1084 per dollar after the mainland reported 39 new coronavirus
cases on Sunday, all but one of them imported, up from the 30
reported a day earlier. China's mainland markets are closed
Monday for a public holiday. YEN WEAKENS
The yen JPY=EBS fell 0.36% to 108.88 against the dollar.
It also weakened against the euro EURJPY=EBS , the Australian
dollar AUDJPY= , and the New Zealand dollar NZDJPY= .
Japan's prime minister will declare a state of emergency
over the coronavirus as early as Tuesday, the Yomiuri newspaper
reported, as the number of infections topped 1,000 in the
capital, Tokyo. Abe will likely announce his plans to declare the emergency
on Monday, the paper said.
Pressure has been mounting on the government to make the
move as the pace of infections - while slow versus harder-hit
countries around the world - continues to accelerate.
The dollar eased slightly to $1.0816 per euro EUR=EBS and
held steady at 0.9777 Swiss franc CHF=EBS .
U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday expressed hope that
the United States was seeing a "leveling-off" of the virus
crisis in some of the nation's hot spots. However, sentiment for the greenback remains fragile after a
series of data last week showed U.S. job losses are soaring as
draconian measures to curb the virus hurt consumer spending and
factory activity. Currencies of major oil producers fell on Monday as crude
prices gave up some of their recent gains after Saudi Arabia and
Russia postponed to Thursday a meeting about a potential pact to
cut production. O/R
The rouble RUB=D3 lost 0.76% against the dollar, while the
Mexican peso fell 2.9% to a record low. The Norwegian crown
NOK= also weakened against the dollar.