Though many countries in the world today are supposed to celebrate April Fool’s Day with pranks and jokes, hardly anyone is in the mood for it, as the world remains paralyzed by the coronavirus pandemic.
The United States approached 190,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and is still far from the peak of the diseases. In Europe, both Italy and Spain surpassed 100,000 cases each. Italy remains the country with the highest mortality rate in the world.
The World Health Organization hopes to see the peak in Europe sometime in mid-April, followed by a steady decline in new cases. Lockdowns and social distancing policies are likely to stay in place well into the spring to prevent a second wave of the coronavirus.
Meanwhile, China, the country where it all began, currently has only about 2,000 active cases, with the bulk of its 81,000 Covid-19 patients having already recovered. Factories are reopening and businesses are trying to return back to normal. The latest PMI readings from China are back in above-50 territory, indicating that the world’s second largest economy is making a quick recovery.
Stocks and indices today are down once more because investors are not feeling up to the risk in the current market.
The oil market remains oversupplied, with prices very close to $20 per barrel, a 17-year minimum. There have been no agreements between the chief oil producing countries yet, so the oversupply will continue.
