The number of coronavirus cases worldwide today has surpassed 22 million. The United States has 5.6 million cases, followed by Brazil with 3.3 million and India with 2.7 million. The rate of infection has slowed down a bit in the US and Brazil, though the former marked another increase yesterday compared to two days ago. India is still finding 50,000+ new Covid-19 cases each day.
Today the economic calendar is pretty quiet. Aside from a restart in the Brexit negotiations between the EU and the United Kingdom, there will be a couple of speeches by central banks - the ECB and the Federal Reserve. We hardly expect anything surprising when it comes to fundamentals today.
The lack of progress in the talks between Democrats and Republicans in the United States is now beginning to pressure the dollar indirectly. Less stimulus means a rocky road to recovery, which is why the dollar has fallen to its lowest level in over two years.
The weakness of the USD has meant other assets can now enjoy the spotlight. Gold, which has already demonstrated an impressive rally to all-time highs in 2020, is now back above $2,000 and is set to continue climbing. Silver is also performing well. The Japanese yen is gaining against the dollar too, as a more reliable safe haven.
In other news, there is a new potential cause for an argument between the United States and China due to new policies against Chinese tech giant Huawei aimed to further impede the company’s global operations. Besides restricting Huawei’s activity in the United States alone, now the US will demand any foreign company to deal with extra paperwork if it plans to sell parts or materials to Huawei.
As for the oil market, today prices are on the decrease in preparation for a new weekly report of oil yields in the United States. The Brent crude dropped to $45.71, while the WTI reached $42.78 earlier today.
