- Most markets went sideways in quiet trading yesterday, with a few exceptions. Stock markets mostly consolidated. In the Forex market, we see a strong US Dollar, and continued weakness in the Japanese Yen. This puts a bullish USD/JPY at the center of today’s Forex market.
- Over 1.6 million new coronavirus cases were confirmed yesterday globally, as infections soar dramatically to new records. Several countries are reporting record daily national highs of new cases, with France alone confirming approximately 200k new cases yesterday.
- Preliminary data suggests that the omicron coronavirus variant, while considerably more infectious, has notably milder effects than previous coronavirus strains, with an estimated 30% to 70% reduction in the probability of hospitalization. This is potentially very good news for both health and economy, so stock markets have been rising.
- It is estimated that 58.1% of the world’s population has received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccination.
- Total confirmed new coronavirus cases worldwide stand at over 284.9 million with an average case fatality rate of 1.91%.
- The rate of new coronavirus infections appears to now be increasing most quickly in Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Bahamas, Canada, Cyprus, Ethiopia, France, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Kenya, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UAE, the UK, and the USA.
Forex Today: USD/JPY Approaches 115
Adam Lemon
Markets are relatively quiet as the year end approaches, with a firm US Dollar and a weak Japanese Yen.