Forex News December 22, 2021

USA?

US President Joe Biden will meet with members of his Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force as well as CEOs from the private sector.?

On the other hand, the US military believes it has discovered a COVID-19 vaccination that is effective against all varieties.?

Only minimal volatility has occurred across key currency pairings, with net USD strength in tiny ranges.?

Regional stocks benefited from Wall Street’s rebound on Tuesday.?

Equity futures in the United States were flat, with a downward tilt.?

In FX, the DXY fluctuated on either side of 96.500, the USD/JPY momentarily fell below 114.00, while the AUD/JPY fell.?

A head of an Oxford research group has suggested that an updated vaccination may be used to “react to any new variety more promptly” than previously thought.?

All of the top coronavirus vaccine manufacturers are doing the same thing.

UK?

Today’s Asian equities markets are closing with millpond levels of flatness, despite yesterday’s stunning episode of BTFD stateside.?

The UK GDP is expected to be dismal.?

This morning, at 07:00GMT, we have UK GDP, which, while typically classified as Tier-1 data, given its backward-looking nature, and markets’ only focus on what economic implications Omicron may bring in the future, don’t be shocked if market players are content to overlook the data. There are no significant GBP moves predicted as a result of the announcement.?

Expect no change in headline quarterly growth in Q3, with the latest monthly data showing that GDP increased 1.3 percent year on year.

Watch for statistics on excess savings, income, and the split of consumer spending (in Q2, private consumption was about 6% lower than the peak — goods were 7% higher, but services were 14.5 percent lower).?

A near-￡10 billion deterioration of the goods trade deficit in Q3 (weaker exports, greater imports), offset only somewhat by a ￡2 billion gain in services, indicating a ￡15 billion current account deficit for the quarter (Q2 was ￡8.6 billion).”

China?

So far this year, the yuan has gained almost 2.6 percent against the US dollar. The reason for this is China’s very large trade surplus. A dramatic change in Western demand for products over services as a result of the epidemic has overwhelmingly favored China.?

Domestic consumption has been curtailed as a result of China’s own hard hand on Covid-19, putting a cap on imports.?

However, if pandemic conditions in the United States and Europe continue to improve, many of these tendencies are likely to reverse. The demand for services may recover. Goods demand may finally be leveling off.

All of this might mean less upward pressure on the Chinese yuan, and the threat of capital outflows could resurface. The property bubble in China has burst, and the country’s economy has slowed. Beijing has begun to convey unambiguous signs that policy has turned to a more accommodative stance. Lower interest rates in China will make its markets less appealing to both foreign and local investors. Capital outflows and a weaker yuan are expected outcomes.