Market News

On Saturday the Italian government decided to put the northern region of Lombardy and 14 provinces into quarantine in order to contain the spread of the coronavirus epidemic.

A surge in interest in safe haven currencies resulted in the Japanese Yen gaining nearly 3% on the US Dollar as a massive decline in oil prices which sent equity and Forex markets into panic mode.

Global markets were facing intense volatility on Monday after a near 30 percent decline in oil prices over the weekend.

Oil prices crashed over the weekend and into Monday’s Asian trading session after OPEC failed to make a deal with its allies to cut production across the board.

The US Dollar came under heavy sell pressure, especially against the Euro and the Japanese Yen, attributed by analysts to a plunge in yields on US treasuries.

The Pound Sterling made headway against its US rival and the Euro during London trade on Thursday as FX traders reevaluate the possibility of an imminent rate cut from the Bank of England.

China's top gas importer PetroChina recently declared a force majeure on gas imports according to sources

The U.S. dollar struggled to advance against its primary trading partners on Thursday as traders priced in the possibility that the Federal Reserve will implement at least one interest rate cut

An unexpected interest rate cut by the Fed has FX traders pondering whether or not the Bank of England might act similarly.

The Bank of Japan Governor Naruhiko Kuroda stated on Wednesday that the coronavirus epidemic could cause big damage to the Japanese economy

The Federal Reserve took emergency measures on Tuesday afternoon with a unanimous decision to cut interest rates by 50 basis points.

Safe haven currencies, namely the Swiss Franc and Japanese Yen, saw significantly renewed interest during the trading session in London on Tuesday, especially against the US Dollar.

The Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe said that the Japanese government is ready to implement fiscal stimulus measures to aid the Japanese economy from the adverse effects of the coronavirus outbreak.

Given the possibility of coordinated central bank action to face the economic effects of the coronavirus epidemic, traders ran into the oil markets on Monday, causing oil futures value surge.

The US Dollar was struggling to regain traction during London trade on Monday