• MTS Economic News 20200413

    13 Apr 2020 | Economic News


· Latest on the spread of the coronavirus around the world

· Total confirmed cases: More than 1,851,734

· Total deaths: At least 114,179

· The coronavirus COVID-19 is affecting 210 countries and territories around the world and 2 international conveyances: the Diamond Princess cruise ship harbored in Yokohama, Japan, and the Holland America's MS Zaandam cruise ship.

· US cases: At least 560,402 (+27,523), and deaths: 22,105 (+1,528)

· Spain cases: At least 166,831 (+3,804), and deaths: 17,209 (+603)

· Italy cases: At least 156,363 (+4,092), and deaths: 19,899 (+431)

· Thailand cases: At least 2,551 (+33), and deaths: 38 (+3)



· สถานการณ์ไวรัสโคโรนา

- จำนวนผู้ติดเชื้อทั่วโลกล่าสุดอยู่ที่ 1,851,734 ราย

- จำนวนผู้เสียชีวิตทั่วโลกล่าสุดอยู่ที่ 114,179 ราย

- จำนวนประเทศติดเชื้อทั่วโลกล่าสุดอยู่ที่ 210 ประเทศ และติดเชื้อบนเรือสำราญ 2 ลำ ได้แก่ Diamond Princess และล่าสุด Holland America’s MS Zaandam

- จำนวนผู้ติดเชื้อในสหรัฐฯอยู่ลำดับที่ 1 ของโลก ล่าสุดมีผู้ติดเชื้อรวมที่ 560,402 ราย (+27,523) และยอดผู้เสียชีวิตที่ปรับตัวขึ้นมาเป็นอันดับที่ 1 ของโลกด้วยจำนวนทั้งหมด 22,105 ราย (+1,528)

- จำนวนผู้ติดเชื้อในสเปนปรับตัวขึ้นมาอยู่อันดับที่ 2 ของโลก ล่าสุดมีผู้ติดเชื้อที่ 166,831 ราย (+3,804) ขณะที่ผู้เสียชีวิตอยู่ที่ 17,209 ราย (+603)

- จำนวนผู้ติดเชื้อในอิตาลีอยู่ที่ระดับ 156,363 ราย (+4,092) ขณะที่ผู้เสียชีวิตรวมแล้วทั้งสิ้น 19,899 ราย (+431)

- จำนวนผู้ติดเชื้อในไทยล่าสุดเพิ่มอีก 33 ราย รวมผู้ติดเชื้อสะสมอยู่ที่ 2,551 ราย และมีผู้เสียชีวิตเพิ่มขึ้น 3 ราย รวมสะสม 38 ราย



- Italy’s daily death tally lowest since March 19

Deaths from the Covid-19 epidemic in Italy rose by 431, down from 619 the day before, and the number of new cases slowed to 4,092 from a previous 4,694. The tally of deaths was the lowest daily rise since March 19.

The total death toll since the outbreak came to light on Feb. 21 rose to 19,899, the Civil Protection Agency said, the second highest in the world after that of the United States. The number of officially confirmed cases climbed to 156,363, the third highest global tally behind those of the United States and Spain.


- Death toll in France nearly 14,400

The overall death toll in France from the coronavirus has risen to nearly 14,400, but for the fourth day in a row, slightly fewer people were admitted into intensive care — 35 fewer — giving health officials a reason to grasp for good news.

Sunday’s statistics issued by the Health Ministry confirm the country is reaching a “very high plateau” and reflect initial signs that nearly four weeks of confinement and the “drastic reduction in contacts” are producing an effect, a statement said.

Since March 1, hospitals and nursing homes have counted 14,393 deaths.


- Philippines reports highest single-day death toll from coronavirus

The Philippines recorded 50 coronavirus deaths on Sunday, its highest in a single day, taking the toll to 297.

In a bulletin, the health ministry said 220 new infections took the tally of virus cases to 4,648. But 40 more patients recovered, for a total of 197 recoveries.


- Nursing home deaths soar past 2,700 in alarming surge

More than 2,700 deaths nationwide have been linked to coronavirus outbreaks in nursing homes and long-term care facilities, an alarming rise in just the past two weeks, according to the latest count by The Associated Press.

The latest count of at least 2,755 deaths is up from about 450 deaths just 10 days ago. But the true toll among the 1 million mostly frail and elderly people who live in such facilities is likely much higher, experts say, because most state counts don’t include those who died without ever being tested for Covid-19.

Experts say the deaths may keep climbing because of chronic staffing shortages in nursing homes that have been made worse by the coronavirus crisis, a shortage of protective supplies and a continued lack of available testing.


- Robert Shiller warns pandemic of fear could tip economy into a depression

Nobel-prize winning economist Robert Shiller warns a pandemic of fear could tip the economy into an undeserved depression.

Shiller, an expert in how our emotions drive financial decisions, finds the sheer volume of chatter surrounding depression risks due to the coronavirus could severely hurt the economy.

“This isn’t the same story as the Great Depression. The Great Depression lasted ten years. They didn’t have an unemployment rate under 12% until the decade was over,” the Yale University professor told CNBC’s “Trading Nation” on Thursday. “It’s a popular narrative. But this is a pandemic. It shouldn’t last ten years. It should be over in one or two years.”


- WHO envoy says coronavirus ‘will stalk the human race for a long time to come’

The special envoy to the World Health Organization doesn’t expect the coronavirus to disappear entirely until a vaccine is developed.

“We think it’s going to be a virus that stalks the human race for quite a long time to come until we can all have a vaccine to protect us,” Dr. David Nabarro, a representative for the WHO, told NBC’s “Meet the Press.”


- Fed's Kashkari says U.S. economy faces 'long, hard road' to recover from coronavirus

The U.S. economic recovery from the disruptions caused by the novel coronavirus outbreak will likely be a “long, hard road” in which some parts of the economy will periodically shut down and restart, Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari said on Sunday.

In an interview on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Kashkari said projections for a quick economic turnaround were overly optimistic unless a treatment for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, became available in the next few months.

“This could be a long, hard road that we have ahead of us until we get to either an effective therapy or a vaccine,” he said, according to a CBS transcript. “It’s hard for me to see a V-shaped recovery under that scenario.”


- World Bank forecasts worst economic slump in South Asia in 40 years

India and other South Asian countries are likely to record their worst growth performance in four decades this year due to the coronavirus outbreak, the World Bank said on Sunday.

The South Asian region, comprising eight countries, is likely to show economic growth of 1.8% to 2.8% this year, the World Bank said in its South Asia Economic Focus report, well down from the 6.3% it projected six months ago.

India’s economy, the region’s biggest, is expected to grow 1.5% to 2.8% in the fiscal year that started on April 1. The World Bank has estimated it will grow 4.8% to 5% in the fiscal year that ended on March 31.


- China's U.S. envoy says trade deal being implemented, hopes for coordinated response

China is still implementing the first phase of a Sino-U.S. trade pact, its ambassador to the United States said, but hoped the two could work together to assess the changing situation and coordinate their response, the Global Times said on Sunday.

The world’s two biggest economies signed the tentative deal to pause a damaging tariff war in January, before the coronavirus pandemic spread, threatening a global economic depression.


· Dollar falls after Fed bolster lending and coronavirus fears ease

The dollar was on course for a weekly loss on Friday as the U.S. Federal Reserve’s massive new lending program for small companies and signs of a slowdown in coronavirus infections reduced safe-haven demand.

The pound pulled ahead against the dollar and the euro as markets breathed a sigh of relief after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson left intensive care following his hospitalization for COVID-19 symptoms.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was last at 99.505 after declining from levels above 100 last week.

Against the euro, the dollar last stood at $1.0941, on course for 1.3% weekly decline.

The greenback last traded at 108.41 yen, unchanged for the week as concern about an increase in coronavirus infections and the declaration of a state of emergency in Japan offset dollar selling.

The pound held steady at $1.2465 on Friday, and headed for a 1.6% gain this week.


· OPEC and allies finalize record oil production cut after days of discussion

OPEC and its oil producing allies on Sunday finalized a historic agreement to cut production by 9.7 million barrels per day, following multiple days of discussions and back-and-forth between the world’s largest energy producers. The cut is the single largest output cut in history.

Sunday’s emergency meeting — the second in four days — came as oil-producing nations scrambled to reach an agreement in an effort to prop up falling prices as the coronavirus outbreak continues to hammer demand. The agreement also ends a price war that broke out between Saudi Arabia and Russia at the beginning of March, which further pressured oil prices as each sought to gain market share.

The group, known as OPEC+, initially proposed cutting production by 10 million barrels per day — amounting to some 10% of global oil supply — on Thursday, but Mexico opposed the amount it was being asked to cut, holding up the final deal.

Talks continued on Friday when energy ministers from the Group of 20 major economies met, and while all agreed that stabilization in the market is needed, the group stopped short of discussing specific production numbers.

Under OPEC+’s new agreement, Mexico will cut 100,000 barrels per day, instead of the 400,000 barrels per day it had initially been asked to cut.

The 9.7 million barrels per day cut will begin on May 1, and will extend through the end of June. The cuts will then taper to eight million barrels per day from July through the end of 2020, and six million barrels per day from Jan. 2021 through April 2022.


· Oil prices are flat after OPEC and allies agree to historic production cut

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 2.5% to trade at $22.25 per barrel, while international benchmark Brent crude traded 10 cents higher at $31.58. In a volatile first few minutes of trading WTI jumped 8% before erasing those gains to turn negative.

“Unprecedented measures for unprecedented times,” Ed Morse, Citi’s global head of commodities, wrote in a note to clients on Sunday. Morse said the cut will have a significant impact in the second half of the year and help lift prices to the mid-$40s by year-end, but that there will be short-term pain while the market rebalances.

“It’s simply too late to prevent a super-large inventory build of over one billion barrels between mid-March and late May and to stop spot prices from falling into single digits,” he said.


Reference: Worldometers, CNBC, Reuters


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