- The Russian invasion of Ukraine is well into its third week, with the Russian advance clearly stalled although Kiev has imposed a special curfew. The Ukrainian government yesterday hinted that it will not seek to join NATO, and stated that talks with Russia have become more realistic and constructive, while signaling any possible ceasefire is still some way off.
- Stock markets closed higher yesterday almost everywhere, possibly due to promising news about the Chinese tech sector and hopes of a negotiated peace between Russia and Ukraine.
- Markets are keenly awaiting today’s US Federal Reserve release, which is expected to impose the first rate hike in years by 0.25%.
- The Forex market is dominated by a strong US Dollar and weak Japanese Yen. The USD/JPY currency pair continued to rise to new 5-year high prices and looks likely to rise higher still as it trades into blue sky above 118.40. There are no obvious resistance levels below 119.00. The US Dollar is remains broadly strong, but did not rise overall yesterday.
- The price of WTI Crude Oil is back below $100 after reaching almost as high as $130 just last week. Other commodities have also continued to weaken, or at least fail to trade higher.
- China yesterday officially recorded its highest ever daily coronavirus new case count. Hong Kong is seeing a dramatic, record-breaking increase in coronavirus deaths, with more than 65% of over-80s unvaccinated amid a dramatic spread of infection. Hong Kong is currently recording a case fatality rate of more than 4.5%. The spread of the coronavirus on mainland China has triggered the government to impose lockdowns which are affecting tens of millions of citizens and forcing some companies to halt operations, endangering crucial supply chains.
- US PPI data came in lower than expected yesterday, showing a monthly increase of 0.8% when 1.0% had been expected, giving some hope for an easing of inflationary pressure.
- Several high-impact data releases are due today in addition to the FOMC release: Canadian CPI (inflation), US Retail Sales, New Zealand GDP, and Australian Unemployment.
- Daily new coronavirus cases globally rose last week for the first time since January, suggesting that the omicron variant is not ready to disappear yet.
- It is estimated that 63.8% of the world’s population has received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccination.
- Total confirmed new coronavirus cases worldwide stand at over 462 million with an average case fatality rate of 1.31%.
- The rate of new coronavirus infections appears to now be increasing only in Australia, Austria, Bhutan, Cyprus, China, Finland, Greece, South Korea, Laos, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Switzerland, Tunisia, the UK, Vanuatu, and Vietnam.