Year: 2020

Updated March 10, 2020 The number of people infected with coronavirus surpassed 110,000 worldwide, with nearly 4,000 deaths globally. The number of new cases outside of China now far surpasses the number of new cases in China on a daily basis. After announcing a quarantine on approximately one quarter of […]

On Saturday the Italian government decided to put the northern region of Lombardy and 14 provinces into quarantine in order to contain the spread of the coronavirus epidemic. At the time of writing, there are around 7375 reported coronavirus infections in Italy, and the death toll is at 366 victims. […]

A surge in interest in safe haven currencies resulted in the Japanese Yen gaining nearly 3% on the US Dollar as a massive decline in oil prices which sent equity and Forex markets into panic mode. The FX market’s Volatility Index earlier struck an almost 3-year peak, largely due to […]

Global markets were facing intense volatility on Monday after a near 30 percent decline in oil prices over the weekend. The decline in oil prices coupled with the severe quarantine measures implemented in Italy, caused traders to sell their assets during the Asian session and into the European trading session. […]

Oil prices crashed over the weekend and into Monday’s Asian trading session after OPEC failed to make a deal with its allies to cut production across the board. The downward spiral started when long-standing OPEC ally Russia rejected the notion of additional production cuts that OPEC leaders had suggested could […]

Updated March 9, 2020: China has closed 11 of its 14 emergency hospitals that were designated to care for coronavirus patients in the wake of a decline in both the death tolls and new diagnoses of cases in the country. Only 40 new diagnoses were reported in China on Sunday, […]

Updated March 8, 2020: Italian Prime Minister Guiseppe Conti announced today that nearly one quarter of his country’s population will be on government-mandated lockdown until at least April 3. The country saw a dramatic spike in cases on Saturday, with 1,247 new diagnoses. The death toll in Italy currently sits […]

The US Dollar came under heavy sell pressure, especially against the Euro and the Japanese Yen, attributed by analysts to a plunge in yields on US treasuries. Growing concerns over the repercussions of the Coronavirus have shifted expectations that the Federal Reserve might move for another rate cut, perhaps even […]

The Pound Sterling made headway against its US rival and the Euro during London trade on Thursday as FX traders reevaluate the possibility of an imminent rate cut from the Bank of England. Yesterday, Andrew Bailey, who will take over the helm of the BoE from Andrew Carney, told lawmakers […]

China’s top gas importer PetroChina recently declared a force majeure on gas imports according to sources. Four industry sources told Reuters that the Chinese company issued a force majeure notice to several gas suppliers, most of them are piped-gas suppliers. 40% of PetroChina’s gas demand is supplied by overseas suppliers. […]