- President Putin has given an order for Russian troops to begin crossing into separatist-controlled regions of Ukraine after officially recognizing them. In a fiery speech, Putin said the Ukraine had no true existence as an independent nation, despite the Ukraine’s full membership of the UN. It is not confirmed any Russian troops have begun crossing into Ukraine.
- France called a UN Security Council meeting and the US has already imposed sanctions on the separatist controlled areas of Ukraine. The UK is preparing a package of sanctions against Russia itself which is expected to be announced later today.
- Almost all major stock markets have fallen quite strongly on news of the latest Russia/Ukraine developments. Crude Oil is near its multi-year highs while Gold has risen to trade at an 8-month high.
- The Russian ruble has fallen by approximately 2.5% against a basked of currencies since President Putin’s speech last night, its most dramatic fall in two years. The impact on the wider Forex market remains unclear although the situation seems to be causing some weakness in the euro and strength in the Japanese yen.
- The Reserve Bank of New Zealand will release its Official Cash Rate and Monetary Policy Statement early Wednesday New Zealand time. It is widely expected that the bank will hike the cash rate by 0.25% to 1.00%.
- The agricultural commodities sector is performing strongly, with foodstuffs such as corn and soybeans close to long-term highs.
- Daily new coronavirus cases globally seem to have peaked five weeks ago, showing that the omicron variant wave is in strong decline almost everywhere.
- It is estimated that 62.3% of the world’s population has received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccination.
- Total confirmed new coronavirus cases worldwide stand at over 426.4 million with an average case fatality rate of 1.39%.
- The rate of new coronavirus infections appears to now be increasing most quickly in Belarus, Bhutan, Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Egypt, El Salvador, Honduras, Iceland, Indonesia, South Korea, Latvia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Russia, Singapore, Slovakia, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Forex Today: Russia Orders Troops Into Ukraine
Adam Lemon
Russia has ordered its troops into regions of Ukraine controlled by separatists, though it's unclear whether troops have begun crossing border yet.