Today the United States officially surpassed China by the total number of patients infected with the coronavirus. As of this morning, there are over 85,000 people with Covid-19 in the United States. Italy is also approaching China’s numbers but has not surpassed that level yet.
By all accounts, it appears that the pandemic is going in full force in the United States. New cases are being confirmed faster and faster as more people gain access to testing kits. However, the country has likely not reached the peak of the pandemic yet.
There were hopes that Italy had reached its peak due to declining numbers of new Covid-19 cases, but now there has been another uptick. Spain is also hit heavily by the coronavirus, and other countries in Europe are wrestling with the disease as well.
Later today the House of Representatives will hold a vote on the Republican-led proposal of a $2 trillion stimulus package to help pay monthly support to unemployed Americans, and fund businesses closed due to the quarantine. The bill will most likely pass.
That legislation, paired with the measures already implemented by the Federal Reserve, has been enough to ensure dollar liquidity and ease some of the stress from the financial markets. Thus, the US dollar is weakening all around today.
A mild drop on the stock markets is expected today as investors try to reap the profits over this week’s recovery of the markets.
