- German inflation data showed an annualized increase of 7.9%, the highest rate recorded since 1952 and an overshoot well beyond the consensus forecast. This data increases the likelihood that the ECB will hike interest rates by 0.50% at its upcoming meeting in July.
- Major cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin/USD, have risen strongly, with Bitcoin breaking out of its range and hitting a new 3-week high price.
- In the Forex market, the US Dollar sold off yesterday, but has recovered during today’s Asian session.
- Stock markets are choppy and mixed.
- There will be a release of Australian GDP data later today, which is widely expected to show a quarterly growth of 0.6%.
- Daily new coronavirus cases globally fell last week, continuing a long-term trend.
- It is estimated that 65.8% of the world’s population has received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccination, while approximately 6.7% of the global population is confirmed to have contracted the virus at some time, although the true number is highly likely to be much larger.
- Total confirmed new coronavirus cases worldwide stand at over 531.6 million with an average case fatality rate of 1.19%.
- The rate of new coronavirus infections appears to now be significantly increasing only in the Belize, Uruguay, Chile, Dominica, Panama, and Taiwan.