CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK
· China reports 406 new cases, 52 additional deaths
China’s National Health Commission reported 406 new confirmed cases, and an additional 52 deaths, as of Feb. 25.
Of the new cases, 401 were in Hubei, the epicenter of the outbreak. The additional deaths are all in Hubei.
The country’s total is now 78,064 confirmed cases, and 2,715 deaths.
· South Korea reports a jump of 169 new cases, 1 additional death
South Korea reported a jump of 169 new cases, bringing the country’s total to 1,146 infected, according to the country’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday morning.
It reported one additional death, bringing the total number of fatalities to 11.
Of the new cases, 134 were from Daegu, the country’s fourth-largest city. So far, more than half of coronavirus cases in the country have been traced back to Daegu’s Shincheonji Church of Jesus, where the government is set to conduct testing on around an estimated 215,000 people.
The U.S. CDC this week raised its alert level for travel to South Korea, citing the outbreak there.
· A U.S. soldier stationed at Camp Carroll in South Korea has tested positive for the new coronavirus — marking the first time an American service member has been infected, according to the United States Forces Korea (USFK).
Camp Carroll is around 22 km (13 miles) away from the South Korean city of Daegu, where a large number of infections in South Korea has been reported. The soldier also visited Camp Walker, which is around 4 km from Daegu.
The 23-year-old soldier is currently in self-quarantine at his off-base residence, the USFK said. It added that contact tracing is currently underway.
· China’s local governments are ramping up surveillance efforts with new data collection campaigns to better trace residents’ moves in public areas, seeking to curb the coronavirus outbreak but heightening privacy concerns.
· The Hong Kong government has announced 120 billion Hong Kong dollars ($15.4 billion) worth of measures to support its economy, which has been dragged down by pro-democracy protests and the new coronavirus outbreak.
That planned spending would result in “an all-time high” fiscal deficit of 139.1 billion Hong Kong dollars, or around 4.8% of gross domestic product, Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary Paul Chan said in his budget speech on Wednesday
· The dollar nursed losses on Wednesday as rising expectations of a U.S. rate cut and warnings from U.S. health officials about the spread of the coronavirus called into question the perceived strength of U.S. financial assets.
The dollar’s index against a basket of six major currencies stood at 99.081, little changed on the day but down 0.9% from a near three-year high of 99.915 hit last week.
Against the yen, the U.S. currency traded at 110.37 yen, gaining 0.1% in Asia on Japanese buying before month-end but still almost two full yen below its 10-month high touched last Thursday.
The euro fetched $1.08815, extending its rebound since it hit near three-year low of $1.0778 on Thursday.
The risk-sensitive Australian dollar stood at $0.6603, stuck near Monday’s 11-year low of $0.6585.
· Trump, Modi hope talks lead to phase one of U.S.-India trade deal: White House
U.S. President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi have agreed to “promptly” conclude ongoing trade talks that they hope can lead to the first phase of a bilateral U.S.-India trade deal, the White House said.
The statement follows Trump’s visit to India on Feb. 24-25, during which the U.S. president clinched the sale of $3 billion of military equipment sale to India.
"They (Trump and Modi) agreed to promptly conclude the ongoing negotiations, which they hope can become phase one of a comprehensive bilateral trade agreement that reflects the true ambition and full potential of the bilateral commercial relations", the White House said late on Tuesday, giving no details on what would be included in the deal.
Earlier on Tuesday, Trump criticized India for its high tariffs.
“India is probably the highest tariff nation in the world,” he said.
· Euro zone money markets price full ECB rate cut by December
Euro zone money markets started to fully price in a December rate cut from the European Central Bank on Wednesday, as the spread of coronavirus outside of China pushed traders to ramp up stimulus expectations.
The probability of an ECB rate cut in July also rose significantly, to around a 70% chance from around 50% on Monday.
· Crude prices edged up on Wednesday as investors covered short positions after three sessions of losses, even as fears deepened that the rapid spread of the coronavirus will lead to a global pandemic.
Brent crude rose 42 cents, or 0.8%, to $55.37 a barrel by 0154 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 43 cents, or 0.9%, to $50.33 a barrel. Still, both benchmarks are down nearly 7% since last Thursday’s close.
“Investors unwound short positions after WTI dipped below a key support level of $50, as they have done a few times earlier this month,” said Hideshi Matsunaga, analyst at Sunward Trading.
“The reduction in Libya’s output and expectations for additional production cuts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and OPEC+ are also lending support,” he said.
· WTI Price Analysis: Short-term falling trendline, 200-bar SMA question buyers
WTI rises 1.04% while taking the bids to $50.35 amid the initial trading hours on Wednesday. The black gold recently benefited from oversold RSI conditions but is yet to cross the key resistances.
Among them, a downward sloping trend line from February 20, at $51.30, acts as the immediate challenge to the buyers.
Should there be a sustained recovery beyond $51.30, 200-bar SMA level of $53.73 and 61.8% Fibonacci retracement of the energy benchmark’s declines from January 19 to February 04, at $55.73, will return to the charts.
Alternatively, sellers will refrain from entering a new trade unless oil prices decline low the monthly low surrounding $49.40. In doing so, late-2018 high around $46.75 could grab the bears’ attention.
Reference: Reuters ,CNBC
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