- The U.S. dollar is clearly the strongest major currency in the Forex market, while the euro is relatively the weakest. The greenback is being boosted by rising U.S. Treasury yields, which have just hit a 14-month high at 1.732%.
- President Erdogan fired the Governor of Turkey’s central bank on Saturday, who had presided over an increase in the value of the Turkish lira. The news pushed the Turkish lira down by 14% against the dollar as the Forex market opened this week, and USD/TRY is still trading above 8.0000. It is unclear whether the momentum against the lira will continue.
- New coronavirus cases are rising globally for the fourth consecutive week, and deaths also increased last week for the first time in months, potentially signifying a rebound in the pandemic where vaccinations are relatively absent.
- Total confirmed new coronavirus cases worldwide stand at over 123.8 million with an average case fatality rate of 2.20%.
- Brazil is suffering from a strong wave of infections, and is currently accounting for approximately one quarter of the entire known global coronavirus daily death toll as fatalities there hit new record highs. The Brazilian health service is severely strained.
- Coronavirus is spreading again in Europe leading to new lockdown measures being imposed in a few countries, notably France, Poland, and Italy.
- The fastest progression in terms of immunizing a population against the coronavirus in all but the smallest states has been in Israel, which has already administered a first shot of the Pfizer vaccine to 56% of its entire population and a second dose to 49% (which includes more than 90% of over-50s who have either received a shot or recovered from coronavirus). The U.A.E. ranks second, with 73 shots given per 100 people. For most of the world, a vaccine remains distant. Progress remains slow in the hard-hit European Union with only a single member state (Hungary) having yet given a first vaccine to 15% of its population.
- The rate of new coronavirus infections appears to now be increasing most quickly in Andorra, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bosnia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Egypt, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, Germany, Guatemala, India, Iraq, Italy, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Mali, Moldova, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Sweden, the Ukraine, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
Forex Today: U.S. Dollar Strength Dominates Forex Market
Adam Lemon
Rising Treasury yields boosts U.S. dollar as stocks take a knock.