- China urging private & state-owned firms to acquire real estate from troubled developers
- Toyota extends plant stoppages in December due to supply chain issues
- Further cuts to China lending rates expected
- FX option expiries for Monday 20 December 2021 at the 10am New York cut
- Trade ideas thread - Monday 20 December 2021
- BOJ Governor Kuroda says large scale monetary easing phase is continuing
- China loan rates: 1 year 3.80% (cut from 3.85%) and 5 year 4.65% (unchanged)
- PBOC sets USD/ CNY reference rate for today at 6.3933 (vs. estimate at 6.3880)
- Coming up Tuesday - RBA Board Minutes for the December meeting
- UK Chancellor say no to lockdown restrictions before Christmas
- UK data – Rightmove house prices for December -0.7% m/m (prior -0.6%
- Goldman Sachs has lowered its US economic growth forecast
- Germany's health minister has said no to a Christmas lockdown
- Oil is trading lower Sunday evening US time/ Monday Asia time
- The knives are out for UK PM Johnson - lockdown soiree pics
- China crackdowns - companies are laying off tens of thousands of workers
- ICYMI - Federal Reserve's Waller and Daly spoke on Friday
- China property developer says home buyers remain wary
- New Zealand trade balance for November shows both exports and imports higher on the month
- US Senator Warren has tested positive for COVID-19
- Australia says no further COVID-19 restrictions - cite high vaccination rate, summer
- US Senator Manchin said he won’t support the Biden “Build Back Better” plan
- Netherlands lockdown over Christmas amid concerns over Omicron - to 14 January.
- New Zealand Q4 consumer confidence falls to 99.1 from 102.7 in Q3
- Monday morning open levels - indicative forex prices - 20 December 2021
- Feedback wanted: Help improve ForexLive
- FBS & Leicester City FC Hold A Grand New Year Prize Draw
The Dow Jones, S&P 500 and the Nasdaq all fell during the US Sunday evening Globex session with risk adversely impacted as the spread of the Omicron variant intensified and saw The Netherlands announce strict lockdown until mid-January. Also weighing, and of more significance IMO, was news out of the US over the weekend that US Senator Manchin has said he is a no to US President Biden’s ‘Build Back Better’ huge spending plan.
Goldman Sachs cut their US GDP forecasts in response to the Manchin news.
In regional equities both China and HK indexes are lower.
The People’s Bank of China today cut its one-year Loan Prime Rate (LPR) by a tiny 5bps, from 3.85% to 3.80%. This is the first cut to the rate since April of 2020 and likely is merely the first step in a series of easings ahead given the ructions in China's property markets and other disruptions.
Oil slumped on the news of the lockdown in the Netherlands on fears of demand pulling back. Its not just the Netherlands but the worry lockdowns will spread more widely again. Germany has ruled out a lockdown ahead of Christmas, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak and other government ministers there have said they do not want similar in the UK either. News reports indicated UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is considering requesting people limit their movements over the holiday period. Good luck with that.
Meanwhile, major forex rates have barely moved on the session. Ranges have been very small indeed with little net movement. NZD/USD fits that description but is just a touch weak. New Zealand health authorities are investigating a man's death the believe may be linked to the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine.
ADDED (just after I posted) -
Pelosi has abandoned hope for a deal this year. 'Hopes' for a 2022 deal.
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EUR has barely moved on the session
