Investor confidence was shattered by the news of the heavily mutated B.1.1.529 coronavirus variant, now called omicron. WHO warned that this variant has a large number of mutations, some of which are concerning. It added that preliminary evidence suggested an increased risk of reinfection with this variant. It may also have a growth advantage to other variants, with faster rate of infections. It's also still unknown if this variant is vaccine-resistant. Yen and Swiss Franc ended the week as run-away leaders as global risk markets were in free-fall. Commodity currencies were the worst performing ones, as lead by New Zealand Dollar despite RBNZ rate hike. Meanwhile, Euro, Sterling and Dollar were mixed, with the greenback giving away much of the earlier gained grounds. While markets will likely stay risk-off for a while, the long term trends are not threatened yet. But of course, we'll have to wait-and-see how things develop. |
