- The U.S. dollar remains the strongest major currency in the Forex market, while the euro, the Japanese yen, and the Aussie are relatively the weakest. Thus USD/JPY currency pair made a new 1-year high yesterday 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.
- The S&P 500 Index closed up yesterday after briefly trading just a few points below the big round number at 4000 at an all-time high. This suggests the index is likely to see yet higher prices over the coming days, especially if the non-farm payrolls data due Friday is more positive than expected.
- President Biden has announced plans for a new $2.3 trillion spending plan on national infrastructure and climate change, to be financed partly by increased taxes on business. It is unclear in what form it might eventually pass through Congress.
- Yesterday saw the ADP Non-Farm Payrolls forecast come in at roughly the expected amount expectations, suggesting the U.S. economy added about half a million net new jobs last month.
- UK Final GDP data released yesterday showed that GDP increased by 1.3% over the fourth quarter of 2020, ahead of the expected 1% increase. However this had no meaningful effect on the Pound.
- 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 129.5 million with an average case fatality rate of 2.18%.
- The fastest progression in terms of immunizing a population against the coronavirus in all but the smallest states has been in Israel, which has administered a first shot of the Pfizer vaccine to 60% of its entire population followed by the UK at 45%. 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 shot to more than 20%.
- 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, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Cuba, Djibouti, Ecuador, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Greece, India, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kosovo, Lithuania, Mali, Mauritius, Mongolia, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, Uruguay, and the United States.
Forex Today: U.S. Stocks Trade at New High
Adam Lemon
The U.S. dollar continues its strong advance especially against the Japanese yen.