Coronavirus Updates:
Ø Total confirmed cases: More than 114,505
Ø Total deaths: At least 4,027
Ø Total Recovered: 64,272
Ø The coronavirus COVID-19 is affecting 115 countries and territories around the world and 1 international conveyance (the Diamond Princess cruise ship harbored in Yokohama, Japan).
· The dollar steadied somewhat on Tuesday after heavy losses against the yen, the euro and the Swiss franc, but traders warn the risks to the greenback remain high as policymakers try to fight off the widening fallout from the coronavirus epidemic.
The U.S. currency started to grind higher as Wall Street stock futures rose, and bond yields bounced, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the White House will hold a news conference on Tuesday about economic measures in response to the virus.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin also said the White House will meet with bank executives this week in a sign the U.S. government is preparing to roll out more measures to soften the blow from the spread of the flu-like virus.
However, analysts say it is too early to call a bottom in the dollar, which was pummelled on Monday after a price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia triggered the biggest daily rout in oil prices since the 1991 Gulf War.
The dollar rose 2.3% to 104.73 yen JPY=EBS, pulling back from the lowest in more than three years.
Against the euro EUR=EBS, the greenback rose 0.72% to $1.13500 after falling on Monday to its lowest in more than a year against the common currency.
· China’s Hubei province is studying plans to allow people in areas at a medium- or low-risk of contracting the coronavirus to start traveling, state media reported on Tuesday, citing a meeting chaired by the province’s party chief Ying Yong.
The meeting, reported by the official Hubei Daily, said that they may allow people to start traveling by using a “health code”, a mobile-based monitoring system that has been rolled out by many local authorities in China in recent weeks.
· China’s President Xi Jinping arrived in Wuhan, the epicenter of coronavirus outbreak, on Tuesday morning where he is set to inspect epidemic control efforts and visit front line staff such as medical workers, state media reported.
His visit to the city marks the first time he has done so since the epidemic started late last year.
· The White House said Monday evening that U.S. President Donald Trump has not been tested for COVID-19 because “he has neither had prolonged close contact with any known confirmed COVID-19 patients, nor does he have any symptoms.”
· Coronavirus spread could last into next year, but impact could be blunted, CDC official says
A top federal health official said Monday that the evolving coronavirus outbreak could persist in the United States into next year, while stressing that public health interventions could still reduce the spread of the virus and cases of illness and death.
“As the trajectory of the outbreak continues, many people in the U.S. will at some point, either this year or next, get exposed to this virus,” Nancy Messonnier of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on a call with reporters. “And there’s a good chance many will become sick.”
Messonnier noted, however, that officials do not expect most people to suffer severe cases of Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. She pointed to data from China, where the outbreak began and thousands of cases have been reviewed, that showed that some 80% of cases were mild and only a few percent were critical.
· U.S. President Donald Trump’s incoming White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows is under self-quarantine after possibly “coming into contact” with someone who tested positive for the new coronavirus, NBC News reported.
· Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the government will work closely with the Bank of Japan to stabilise markets, piling pressure on the central bank to ramp up stimulus next week to fend off risks to the economy from the coronavirus outbreak.
The remarks came hours after BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda reiterated the central bank’s readiness to act against “very unstable” markets, suggesting a heightening chance of additional monetary easing at next week’s rate review.
· Barclays cuts 2020 oil price outlook on price war, virus impact
Barclays on Tuesday slashed its oil price forecasts for 2020, citing OPEC’s failure to convince its allies including Russia to cut production further, which led to Saudi Arabia saying it would raise its output in April despite sluggish global demand.
The bank lowered its 2020 Brent price forecast to $43 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) price outlook to $40. The bank had previously forecast Brent prices at $59 per barrel for this year and WTI at $54, as of end-February.
· Trump vows 'major' steps to aid U.S. economy amid coronavirus rise
President Donald Trump on Monday said he will be taking “major” steps to gird the economy against the impact of the spreading coronavirus outbreak and will discuss a payroll tax cut with congressional Republicans on Tuesday.
“We’ll be discussing a possible payroll tax cut or relief, substantial relief, very substantial relief, that’s a big number,” Trump told reporters.
He did not provide details but said a news conference will be held on Tuesday.
House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, the top two Democrats in Congress, told reporters that any payroll tax cut should be limited to those affected by the virus.
Among proposals that could be included are ensuring water supplies are maintained for people even if they cannot pay their bills as a result of the crisis, expanded unemployment insurance, medical leave and providing food for children who rely on school nutrition programs if schools are shut.
· China has now closed all temporary hospitals in the central city of Wuhan, the epicenter of a coronavirus outbreak, a news website backed by the Shanghai government, the Paper, said on its official Twitter account on Tuesday.
· Oil prices bounced 8% on Tuesday from the biggest one-day rout in nearly 30 years, as investors eyed the possibility of economic stimulus amid a price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia and as new virus cases slowed in China.
President Donald Trump on Monday said he will be taking “major” steps to gird the U.S. economy against the impact of the spreading coronavirus outbreak and will discuss a payroll tax cut with congressional Republicans on Tuesday.
Brent crude futures rose by $2.85, or 8.3%, to $37.21 a barrel by 0605 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained $2.46, or 7.9%, to $33.59 a barrel.
· Standard Chartered Slashes WTI Oil Price Forecast To $32
Expecting a fierce and protracted oil price war, Standard Chartered slashed on Monday its oil price estimates for this year and next, saying WTI Crude prices would average $32 a barrel in 2020.
The bank cut its outlook on WTI Crude from $59 a barrel it had previously expected.
For 2021, Standard Chartered expects WTI Crude prices to average $41 a barrel, down from its previous estimate of $63.
The bank also slashed its projection for the average Brent Crude price in 2020 and 2021. Standard Chartered now sees Brent prices averaging just $35 a barrel this year, down from $64 per barrel previously expected. Next year, Brent Crude should average $44 a barrel, down from $67 expected just days ago.
“With supply ramping up at the same time as coronavirus-related demand losses reach their maximum, the short-term floor to oil prices is extremely weak,” Standard Chartered said in a note, as carried by Reuters.
Standard Chartered wasn’t the only bank that slashed its oil price outlook in the near term after the Saudi-Russia oil bromance abruptly ended at the end of last week.
The oil market has entered yet another New Oil Order with the price war, with US$20 Brent Crude a real possibility in the coming two quarters, Goldman Sachs said on Monday.
“US$30/bbl here we come,” ING’s Head of Commodities Strategy Warren Patterson said on Sunday as ING analysts slashed their Q2 Brent Crude forecast to $33 a barrel from $56, and the Q2 WTI Crude estimate to $28 per barrel from $50.
Reference: Reuters, CNBC, Statnews, Oil Price
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