CORONAVIRUS UPDATES:
- Total confirmed cases: More than 724,346
- Total deaths: At least 34,007
- The coronavirus COVID-19 is affecting 199 countries and territories around the world and 1 international conveyance (the Diamond Princess cruise ship harbored in Yokohama, Japan, and the Holland America's MS Zaandam cruise ship.)
- US cases: At least 142,735, and deaths: 2,489- Italy cases: At least 97,689, and deaths: 10,779
- Thailand cases: At least 1,524 (+136), and deaths: 7
· The dollar snapped a week of declines and the safe-haven yen found support on Monday, as coronavirus lockdowns tightened across the world and investors braced for a prolonged period of uncertainty.
After its worst week since 2009, the greenback climbed against the pound, euro, kiwi and the Australian dollar in a cautious Asian session.
Sterling was last 0.8% softer at $1.2357, the Aussie down 0.5% at $0.6134, while the euro fell by the same margin to $1.1077.
Against a basket of currencies the dollar rose 0.5% to 98.831.
“Now that the (dollar) funding pressure is easing somewhat, the focus is pretty much shifting towards assessing the damage,” said Bank of Singapore currency analyst Moh Siong Sim.
“And there, the viral infection rate is still up in the air, (and) it’s a bit of risk-aversion.”
The safe-haven Japanese yen was steady at 108.02 yen per dollar.
The Chinese yuan also slipped 0.3% in offshore trade to 7.1062 after the People’s Bank of China unexpectedly cut a key interbank interest rate, the seven-day reverse repurchase rate, by 20 basis points.
· U.S. government debt prices were higher on Monday morning as fears mount that worldwide shutdowns resulting from the coronavirus pandemic could continue for months.
At around 3:10 a.m. ET, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves inversely to price, was lower at 0.6870% while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond was down at 1.2634%.
· A food crisis looms as coronavirus forces farms to stay idle and countries hoard supplies
The coronavirus outbreak could affect food security as the global pandemic disrupts labor availability and the supply chain.
“We risk a looming food crisis unless measures are taken fast to protect the most vulnerable, keep global food supply chains alive and mitigate the pandemic’s impacts across the food system,” said the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in a recent post on its website.
The FAO said disruptions can be expected in April and May.
· China’s central bank unexpectedly cut the rate on reverse repurchase agreements by 20 basis points on Monday, the largest in nearly five years, as authorities ramped up steps to relieve pressure on an economy ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic.
The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) announced on its website that it was lowering the 7-day reverse repo rate CN7DRRP=PBOC to 2.20% from 2.40%, but it did not give a reason for the move.
· Group of 20 trade ministers will hold an emergency video conference on Monday to discuss cooperation on supply chains, the Nikkei business daily reported.
They are likely to confirm cooperation to maintain and strengthen supply chains to respond to the impact from the coronavirus outbreak, according to the Nikkei.
· Mainland China reported a drop in new coronavirus infections for a fourth day as imported cases fell, while authorities shut the borders to foreign travellers and drastically slashed the number of international flights.
Sunday’s figure of 31 new cases, including one locally transmitted infection, was down from 45 the previous day, the National Health Commission said. Four deaths took the toll to 3,304, from 81,470 infections, it added in Monday’s statement.
· Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) said on Monday that it would extend a suspension at all of its factories in Europe with the exception of Russia until further notice, with a restart expected no earlier than April 20.
With the spread of the coronavirus epidemic, Toyota had suspended production from around mid-March in France, Britain, the Czech Republic, Poland, Turkey and Portugal. Its Russian factory will be closed from March 30 to April 3, it said.
· Japan will step up its efforts to stop the spread of coronavirus by banning the entry of foreign citizens traveling from the United States, China, South Korea and most of Europe, the Asahi newspaper reported on Monday.
· Partisan divide returns in U.S. Congress on coronavirus next steps
Fresh partisan divisions flared on Sunday on the next steps for the U.S. Congress in dealing with the coronavirus crisis, with the top House of Representatives Republican casting doubt on the need for more economic stimulus legislation while House Speaker Nancy Pelosi signaled she plans to move forward with it.
President Donald Trump on Friday signed into law a $2.2 trillion aid package - the largest on record - to address the economic downturn inflicted by the coronavirus pandemic after the Democratic-led House and Republican-led Senate put aside partisan differences to pass it nearly unanimously.
Pelosi, the top Democrat in Congress, told CNN’s “State of the Union” program that the three bills already signed into law were merely a “down payment.”
“We have to do more,” Pelosi said, adding that the existing bills do not provide enough because “every single day, the need grows.”
· India has no plans to extend a 21-day lockdown to slow the spread of the coronavirus, the government said on Monday, as it struggled to keep essential supplies flowing and prevent tens of thousands of out-of-work people fleeing to the countryside.
· UK epidemic is slowing and antibody test could be ready in days, top epidemiologist says
The coronavirus epidemic in the United Kingdom is showing signs of slowing and antibody tests could be ready in days, Neil Ferguson, a professor of mathematical biology at Imperial College London, said on Monday.
He said antibody tests were in the final stage of validation right now and could be hopefully ready to use in “days rather than weeks”.
· Crude oil benchmarks fell sharply on Monday, with Brent hitting its lowest since November 2002, as fears grew over the coronavirus pandemic eroding demand and the Saudi Arabia-Russia price war threatened to overload the market.
Brent futures LCOc1 were down 5.8%, or $1.45, to $23.48 a barrel as of 0623 GMT, after earlier dropping to $23.03, the lowest since November 2002.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 fell as far as $19.92, near an 18-year low hit earlier this month, and was last trading down 3.8%, or $0.82, at $20.69 a barrel.
Reference: Reuters, CNBC, Worldometers
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