As of today, there have been 5.9 million Covid-19 cases worldwide. The United States remains the most affected country with 1.7 million cases of the novel coronavirus. Brazil is the second most heavily affected region with 438,000 patients with Covid-19. Russia is now third with 379,000 infections, almost 100,000 over Spain, for comparison. Mexico and Pakistan are also epicenters of the coronavirus at the moment.
Today we expect a number of fundamental reports from around the world. The retail sales from Germany this morning came in better than expected, though still in negative territory. We are also awaiting inflation rate information from France, as well as the eurozone as a whole, and GDP data from Italy.
The United States will also publish its core CPI report today, which is of great interest, especially considering yesterday’s GDP report was worse than expected and initial jobless claims were once again higher than the forecasts. Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell will also speak today, helping the markets make sense of the data.
Later in the day, we will hear from US President Donald Trump, who will likely reveal what type of sanction the United States has ready for China over the passing of a new security law that takes away Hong Kong’s autonomy.
Trump could also announce changes in the way America has been treating Hong Kong in terms of trade relations, suspending many or all of the exemptions that previously applied since Hong Kong was considerate as separate from China in legal terms.
Oil prices today are on the decline due to another week of increasing production in the United States. The WTI dropped to $32.43, while the Brent crude fell to $35.02 today.
