XE Morning Update

The Kiwi opens at 0.6437

No major movement over the weekend, with Coronavirus cases increasing at circa two thousand per day, which seems to be about the neutral spot, neither good nor bad news. The longer the rate only grows at that same amount per day though, the better news it will be, and will quickly fade off the media’s radar. An increase from 10,000 cases to 12,000 is a large 20% move, from 100,000 to 102,000 is only 2%, and by definition implies less contagiousness.

Out of Europe we had GDP data which came in flat at 0%. The EUR has been selling off a bit lately, and lack of growth does not help things. Chinese oil demand dropped by about 3-4 million barrels per day, or circa 30%, so you can imagine their demand for European exports has also dropped. The US has increased tariffs on aircraft, and the UK is sorting out its divorce settlement, which will be sure to drag on and on. So all in all things are looking a little gloomy for the EU.

The US are off for presidents day, with half of the people celebrating it. Highlights for the week ahead include Wednesday mornings Global Dairy Trade auction, and Australia’s Employment data Thursday afternoon.

Global equity markets are mixed, - Dow -0.09%, S&P 500 +0.18%, FTSE -0.58%, DAX -0.01%, CAC -0.39%, Nikkei -0.59%, Shanghai +0.38%

Gold prices are up, trading at $1,583 an ounce. WTI Crude Oil prices are also bouncing, up 1.8% down to at $52.15 a barrel

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