Yesterday’s employment data was a breath of fresh air for the financial markets. The unemployment rate in the eurozone in May was 7.4%, lower than the expected 7.7%. The labor market improved in the United States too, where June unemployment fell to 11.1% from 13.3% previously. However, the initial and continuing jobless claims reports both disappointed investors.
Despite the high number of crucial fundamental reports published around the world this week, the coronavirus pandemic remains the most important issue on the markets.
There are now over 11 million coronavirus cases globally. The United States continues to break its own records with alarming statistics, declaring 57,000 new Covid-19 infections yesterday. Brazil has surpassed 1.5 million coronavirus cases, having declared 47,000 new ones yesterday.
Chile and Peru now each have more Covid-19 cases than Italy and the UK, and might well overtake Spain in the near future, thus beating out all of the most heavily affected countries in Europe. At this point in time China, which was the first country where the novel coronavirus appeared, is not even in the top 20 of the most affected regions.
With the situation stabilizing in Europe, the United Kingdom is preparing to reopen its hotels, bars, and restaurants this weekend. Covid-19 has not been fully eliminated from the island, but due to the low number of new infections, the UK is moving ahead with ending the lockdowns.
In addition, there is some turbulence in France, where President Emmanuel Macron’s party lost the local elections. As a result, Macron’s Prime Minister and entire government have resigned to make room for a new cabinet of ministers.
In other news, the relationship between India and China is worsening further. The two countries clashed over a border dispute in the Himalayas. Last week India also banned 50 Chinese apps from its territory, including social media giant TikTok. Now India is taking a page out of Trump’s book, introducing tariffs on Chinese imports.
