- The U.S. dollar is 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 a few hours ago, which suggests further downwards movement is likely to happen over the coming days due to the long-term bearish momentum. Thus USD/JPY currency pair made a 9-month high earlier just below 110.00, which suggests still higher prices are likely to be seen shortly there.
- Although EUR/USD seems to be finding support in the 1.1760 area, 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 5-year yield just a fraction under the long-time high rate of 0.90%. The 10-year yield has reached another 1-year high at 1.747%.
- A new survey shows that the supply of available Bitcoin for sale at leading exchanges has fallen to its lowest level in 2 years, suggesting the Bitcoin price is firm.
- 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.
- Total confirmed new coronavirus cases worldwide stand at over 128.2 million with an average case fatality rate of 2.19%.
- 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 and intensive care units are running out of space.
- 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, Belarus, Bosnia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Djibouti, Ecuador, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, India, Iraq, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Lithuania, Mali, Moldova, Mongolia, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, and Uruguay.
Forex Today: U.S. Dollar Strong on 5-Year Yield
Adam Lemon
The U.S. dollar and stock markets remain strong.