Although of late the importance of fundamental reports has retreated to the background, allowing the coronavirus to dictate the course of the financial markets, today one report stands out: unemployment statistics from the United States, in the form of initial jobless claims.
This reading will show just how many people in the US lost their jobs since the pandemic began, a number that has been highly disputed and anticipated. It will be a good gauge as to how the US economy is taking the pandemic and may potentially boost the demand for safe haven assets.
The United States is currently seeing the worst of the pandemic compared to other countries. The number of patients suffering from Covid-19 has surpassed 200,000, roughly one fifth of all patients globally. The disease is likely to continue spreading because the US government was late in reacting to the pandemic and the American healthcare system is poorly prepared for the outbreak.
Today we are seeing a surprising recovery in oil prices. Though there has been no official confirmation yet, US President Donald Trump stated that Saudi Arabia and Russia are expected to reconcile soon. It is unclear what the President is basing his statements on, but experts have suggested the US might impose sanctions on these two oil exporting countries to keep them in check.
American oil futures climbed to $22.38, while the Brent crude reached $27.50.
