- The two major cryptocurrencies, BTC/USD and Ethereum, seem posed for major bearish breakdowns. Both are consolidating just above areas of key long-term support. If we see Bitcoin get established below $18,500 and Ethereum below $997, further sharp falls will be likely to happen.
- Markets have opened the first Asian session of the week quietly, with little price movement. Risk-off sentiment continues to dominate the markets, and in the Forex market, the US Dollar remains strong while the British Pound looks likely to be the weakest major currency today.
- There will be a release of Swiss CPI (inflation) data today, which may affect the price of the Swiss Franc (CHF).
- It is a major public holiday in the USA today, so US markets will be closed, while the Forex market will have very thin volume by approximately 1pm London time until Tuesday’s Asian session begins. It is generally likely to be a very quiet day in the markets and day traders should consider taking the day off.
- Daily new coronavirus cases globally rose again last week, against the long-term trend. It may be that the omicron subvariant BA5 will cause another significant wave.
- It is estimated that 66.5% of the world’s population has received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccination, while approximately 6.9% 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 551.8 million with an average case fatality rate of 1.15%.
- The rate of new coronavirus infections appears to now be significantly increasing in Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brunei, Colombia, Croatia, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Pakistan, Qatar, Switzerland, UK, Albania, Austria, Bahrain, Cyprus, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Morocco, Singapore, and the UAE.