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1. WTI Crude Oil has risen for yet another day to a 2.5-year high price as OPEC fails to agree an increase in supply. Higher oil prices fuel growing concern over rising inflation mounting globally and especially in the USA (OIL, BNO).
2. In the Forex market, the USD has lost a little ground this week, while the NZD is rising quite strongly as analysts begin to see a rate hike by the RBNZ as likely in November this year. Over the short term, the USD is the weakest currency, but it has considerable long-term strength (UDN).
3. The Reserve Bank of Australia has maintained its QE program and kept interest rates steady, yet has begun to subtly indicate a tightening of monetary policy will arrive earlier than expected. This is still a long way off, with rate hikes officially not looking likely until 2024, although it will almost certainly happen earlier than that.
4. There will be a release of US ISM services data later today.
5. Last week saw a second consecutive weekly rise in global new confirmed coronavirus cases, suggesting that the pandemic is advancing again due to the spread of the more highly infectious Delta (Indian) variant. There is increasing concern over this in some countries, notably Australia, which has begun a partial lockdown as local transmission seems to be beginning. The UK seems set to abolish restrictions on 19^th July despite the increasing rise in new coronavirus cases there day by day.
6. It is estimated that 24.2% of the world’s population has received at least one vaccination against the novel coronavirus.
7. Total confirmed new coronavirus cases worldwide stand at over 184.9 million with an average case fatality rate of 2.16%.
8. The fastest progression in terms of immunizing a population against the coronavirus in all but the smallest states has been in Iceland, Malta, Bermuda, Kuwait, Bhutan, Israel, Chile, Uruguay, and Canada, which have given at least one shot to between 77% and 63% of their respective populations. Malta is an especially interesting case, as it has vaccinated more than 80% of its population and should therefore have full herd immunity by most expert estimations, although it registered 12 new cases yesterday. For most of the world, a vaccine still remains distant. However, the pace of vaccination in the European Union, which now has immunized 52% of its population, has picked up significantly. In the U.S., 55% of the population has been vaccinated.
9. The rate of new coronavirus infections appears to now be increasing most quickly in Algeria, Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, Cuba, Cyprus, Fiji, Finland (despite its high level of vaccination), Greece, Honduras, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, South Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Panama, Russia, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and the United Kingdom (despite its high level of vaccination).