GBP/USD came under intense selling pressure on Tuesday and dropped to multi-week lows. A strong pickup in the USD demand was seen as a key factor exerting downward pressure. Technical selling below the 1.3800 mark further contributed to the steep intraday decline. EUR/USD has extended its falls below 1.19 amid rising coronavirus concerns in the EU. Germany’s Merkel confirmed an extension to the lockdown until April 18. The US dollar firms up amid worsening market mood, as the focus shifts to Powell’s testimony. The Dollar Index was up 0.2% at 91.877, just below recent highs. USD/JPY was down 0.1% at 108.69 while NZD/USD fell 1.2% to 0.7076, hitting a three-month low, after the New Zealand government announced new measures to try and cool its fast-growing property market by increasing the supply of houses and removing tax incentives for speculators. This dragged the risk-sensitive AUD/USD lower, with this pair 0.8% lower at 0.7685.