• US CPI (inflation) showed a drop in the monthly increase from 0.5% to 0.3%, undershooting the expected monthly increase of 0.4%. This suggests the current bout of inflation may have already peaked, giving credence to the Fed’s recent insistence that it is a transitory phenomenon. However, the data had little impact upon the US dollar and US stock markets closed lower.

Pixabay

• Poorer-than-expected Chinese retail sales data (an annualized increase of only 2.5% compared to the 7% which had been expected) and domestic coronavirus curbs have raised fears of a slowing Chinese economy, denting global growth prospects in the eyes of many analysts (GXC).

• Energies are performing strongly, with natural gas hitting multi-year high prices above $5, and WTI Crude Oil trading at a 6-week high above $70 per barrel. Markets have become more concerned about US supply chain issues potentially affecting energies (BNO).

• The Forex market is relatively quiet, with the Japanese yen (FXY) looking like the strongest currency on risk-off sentiment while the commodity currencies (AUD, CAD, NZD) look relatively weak.

• Bitcoin and most other cryptocurrencies have looked weak and heavy after their sharp, sudden falls last week. However, Bitcoin (BITCOMP) stands out as it is showing signs of recovery.

• Today will see releases of British and Canadian CPI (inflation) data which may trigger price movement in GBP (FXB) and CAD (FXC).

• Last week saw the third consecutive weekly fall in global new confirmed coronavirus cases after over 2 months of weekly rises, suggesting the current wave driven by the delta variant may have peaked.

• It is estimated that 42.3% of the world’s population has had at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccination.

• Total confirmed new coronavirus cases worldwide stand at over 226.6 million with an average case fatality rate of 2.06%.

• The rate of new coronavirus infections appears to now be increasing most quickly in Australia, Austria, Barbados, Bosnia, Cambodia, Croatia, Egypt, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Philippines, Romania, Serbia, Singapore, and Slovenia.