- The U.S. dollar remains the strongest major currency in the Forex market, while the euro, the Japanese yen, and precious metals are relatively the weakest. The EUR/USD currency pair hit a new 4-month low during the Asian session, which suggests further downwards movement is likely to happen over the coming days due to the long-term bearish momentum. Thus the USD/JPY currency pair made a new 1-year high earlier just below 111.00, which suggests still higher prices are likely to be seen shortly there.
- The euro looks liable to sell off due to the increasing impact of the latest wave of the coronavirus in the Eurozone, and the ramped up pace of the ECB’s pandemic emergency purchase program.
- U.S. Treasury yields remain high, with the 10-year yield again reaching a 1-year high yesterday at 1.77%.
- Bitcoin is looking bullish as it gets established above a former key resistance level at $58,161. It looks quite likely that Bitcoin will go on soon to test its all-time high price of $61,781 made earlier this month. The CME Group has introduced Bitcoin micro futures valued at one-tenth of a Bitcoin which will allow futures trading for smaller traders and investors.
- JPMorgan has estimated that the banking sector may be exposed to $10 billion of loss from Archegos. Many analysts believe most of this exposure will be suffered by Credit Suisse.
- Yesterday saw US CB consumer confidence and Chinese Manufacturing PMI data come in well ahead of expectations, suggesting both economies may be in relatively good shape.
- Today will see two important data releases in the Forex market which may affect the US dollar and the British pound: the US ADP non-farm employment change forecast and UK final GDP data.
- New coronavirus cases are rising globally for the fifth consecutive week, and deaths also increased last week for the second week running after falling for months, signifying a rebound in the pandemic in areas where vaccinations are relatively absent. The increase is especially pronounced in Europe, which now accounts for 40% of global daily deaths. Brazil is accounting for almost one quarter the same.
- Total confirmed new coronavirus cases worldwide stand at over 128.8 million with an average case fatality rate of 2.19%.
- The Australian vaccination rollout has come under heavy criticism as data shows an 85% shortfall in the vaccination target for the end of March.
- 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 51% (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 82 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 more than 20 shots per 100 of its population.
- The rate of new coronavirus infections appears to now be increasing most quickly in Andorra, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bosnia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Djibouti, Ecuador, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Guatemala, India, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Lithuania, Mali, Mauritius, Moldova, Mongolia, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, Uruguay, and the United States.
Forex Today: U.S. Dollar At 4-Month High Price
Adam Lemon
The U.S. dollar continues its strong advance especially against the Japanese yen and the euro.