- Stocks rose yesterday on initial signs that the omicron variant is not as bad as feared, with Dr. Antony Fauci stating “thus far, it does not look like there is a great deal of severity to it”. This also boosted riskier currencies, crude oil, and cryptocurrencies, while knocking safe-havens.
- The Reserve Bank of Australia gave its monthly policy release a few hours ago which helped boost the Australian dollar, which is currently showing the strongest short-term bullish momentum of any major currency. The RBA kept monetary policy unchanged as expected and stated that “The omicron strain is a new source of uncertainty, but it is not expected to derail the recovery”.
- Almost all major cryptocurrencies have seen a bullish rebound after looking likely to fall further yesterday. Bitcoin broke up above resistance and is now trading above the major round number at $50k.
- Natural gas fell again yesterday to a new 3-month low, but has recovered a little in recent hours. It still looks prone to further falls.
- The omicron coronavirus variant is still being researched and monitored, with morbidity remaining unclear, although very early signs are encouraging. Markets remain prone to very strong risk-off movement if forthcoming news about the potency of the omicron variant is negative.
- The omicron variant is confirmed to be present in 40 countries. There are confirmations of community spread. Several countries (most recently Japan) have either entirely closed their borders to non-citizens, while the US and the EU and other countries have imposed a ban on travel from South Africa and other African nations.
- Last week saw the seventh consecutive global weekly rise in new confirmed coronavirus cases after two months in which cases fell steadily.
- It is estimated that 55% of the world’s population has received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccination.
- Total confirmed new coronavirus cases worldwide stand at over 266.7 million with an average case fatality rate of 1.98%.
- The rate of new coronavirus infections appears to now be increasing most quickly in Andorra, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Mali, Malta, Norway, Poland, Portugal, San Marino, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Trinidad, the UK, and the USA.
Forex Today: Risk Rebounds on Early Omicron Indications
Adam Lemon
Earliest indications suggests the omicron coronavirus variant will not have a severe economic impact.