CORONAVIRUS UPDATES:
-Total confirmed cases: More than 341,330
-Total deaths: At least 14,746
-Affecting 192 countries and 1 international conveyance (the Diamond Princess cruise ship).
-US cases: At least 35,060, and deaths: 457
-Italy cases: At least 59,138, and deaths: 5,476
-Iran cases: At least 21,638, and deaths: 1,685
-Thailand cases: At least 721, and deaths: 1
· South Korea on Monday reported its lowest number of new coronavirus cases since the peak so far on Feb. 29 and the extended downward trend in daily infections has boosted hopes that Asia’s largest outbreak outside China may be abating.
The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said there were 64 new cases on Monday, taking the national tally to 8,961. The death toll rose by one to 110.
· New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday the country will move into its highest alert level, with all-non-essential services, schools and offices to be shut over the next 48 hours.
The move means bars, cafes, restaurants and cinemas will be shut. Supermarkets and pharmacies will remain open, Ardern said, adding that the country was well supplied.
· The dollar held gains against most peers on Monday as fresh declines in stocks accelerated the flight to cash, although it lost ground against the euro and yen as U.S. lawmakers failed to pass a stimulus package to fight the coronavirus.
“We’ve moved from risk off to a phase where major players are competing with each other for the safety of holding dollars in cash,” said Yukio Ishizuki, FX strategist at Daiwa Securities in Tokyo.
Against the yen JPY=EBS, the U.S. currency bounced between gains and losses but last traded down 0.6% at 110.07.
The dollar initially rose against the euro EUR=EBS to the strongest since April 2017 but then pared gains to trade 0.4% lower at $1.0737 per euro.
Elsewhere, the dollar extended gains.
The greenback rose 0.1% against the pound GBP=D3 to $1.1657, trading near the strongest since at least 1985.
It closed in on multi-year highs against the Australian AUD=D3 and New Zealand NZD=D3 dollars as the economic costs of self-isolation triggered the largest intraday decline ever in New Zealand shares.
· U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, frustrated over the deadlock on a major coronavirus response bill, late on Sunday announced a procedural vote will be held early on Monday on a bill that senators already rejected.
McConnell, a Republican, said that unless a bipartisan deal is reached before 9:45 a.m. Monday (1345 GMT), he will force a second vote on a bill Democrats opposed. In the meantime, talks were continuing in the hope of a compromise to what could be a $1 trillion-plus bill responding to the coronavirus outbreak.
· The measures adopted by the European Central Bank in response to the coronavirus emergency are sufficient and effective but the bank is ready to do more if necessary, a member of its Governing Council, Ignazio Visco, said on Monday
“The set of measures adopted has been effective in relieving tensions. We believe today that these are sufficient, but we are ready to do more if needed,” Visco, who is also Governor of the Bank of Italy, told newspaper La Stampa in an interview.
· Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hinted that the Tokyo Olympics could be postponed but ruled out the possibility of canceling the global sporting event, according to multiple local media reports on Monday.
· Canada became the first country to boycott the Tokyo Games due to the coronavirus pandemic and Australia told its athletes to prepare for an Olympics next year as Japan and the IOC flagged the prospect of a postponement for the first time.
· South Korea will unveil details of crisis funds it is preparing to put a floor under crashing bond and stock markets on Tuesday as the coronavirus roils global financial markets.
· The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) on Monday bought A$4 billion ($2.3 billion) in local government bonds as part of its quantitative easing program to keep short-term yields around the cash rate of 0.25%.
· Brent crude prices extended falls on Monday amid more action by governments to contain the global coronavirus outbreak that has slashed the demand outlook for oil and threatened a worldwide economic contraction.
Brent crude LCOc1 futures fell 65 cents, or 2.4%, to $26.33 a barrel by 0328 GMT. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures were up 29 cents, or 1.3%, at $22.92 a barrel, having fallen 2 percentage points more than Brent this year.
Oil prices have fallen for four straight weeks and have dropped about 60% since the start of the year. Prices of everything from coal to copper have also been hit by the crisis, while markets in bonds and stocks enter rarely charted territory.
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