- Most markets are sideways as the new year opens quietly. Asian stock markets are mostly lower. In the Forex market, we see a strong US dollar, and continued weakness in the Japanese yen. This puts a bullish USD/JPY at the center of today’s Forex market. The currency pair is close to testing its 5-year high made a few weeks ago. A failure to rise beyond 115.40 may give a short trade opportunity.
- The UK, USA, Canada, and Italy have public holidays today, but US stock markets will be open.
- Over 1.8 million new coronavirus cases were confirmed yesterday globally, as infections soar dramatically to new records.
- Preliminary data suggests that the omicron coronavirus variant, while considerably more infectious, has notably milder effects than previous coronavirus strains, with an estimated 70% reduction in the probability of hospitalization. This is potentially very good news for both health and economy, so stock markets have been broadly bullish.
- It is estimated that 58.3% of the world’s population has received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccination.
- Total confirmed new coronavirus cases worldwide stand at over 290.6 million with an average case fatality rate of 1.88%.
- The rate of new coronavirus infections appears to now be increasing most quickly in Albania, Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Greece, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Kuwait, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Mali, Malta, Montenegro, Portugal, Qatar, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the UAE, the UK, Uruguay, and the USA.
Forex Today: USD/JPY Close to 5-Year High Price
Adam Lemon
Markets are relatively quiet as the new year begins, with a firm US dollar and a weak Japanese yen.