Aussie falls on growing Omicron concerns
The Australian dollar fell against most currencies on Monday, amid growing concerns about the spread of the Omicron variant and its impact on the global economic recovery.
Several European countries, such as the UK, started to see record daily spike in Covid-19 infections due to the Omicron outbreak, which threatens another lockdown and closures.
Countries such as Denmark, Norway and Austria have also tightened restrictions on citizens, especially on the unvaccinated.
The American biotech frim Moderna reported that a booster shot of its vaccine protect from Omicron infection.
The World Health Organization said that Omicron cases appeared in more than 90 countries, with over 1000 cases in 43 US states so far.
As of 16:43 GMT AUD/USD fell 0.2% to 0.7111, after hitting a high of 0.7143 and a low of 0.7082.
Dow Jones drops over 600 points in early trading
US stock indices fell in early trading on Monday, amid growing concerns about the Omicron variant.
Several European countries, such as the UK, started to see record daily spike in Covid-19 infections due to the Omicron outbreak, which threatens another lockdown and closures.
Countries such as Denmark, Norway and Austria have also tightened restrictions on citizens, especially on the unvaccinated.
The American biotech frim Moderna reported that a booster shot of its vaccine protect from Omicron infection.
As for stocks, Dow Jones fell 1.7% or 616 points to 34,747 as of 15:27 GMT, and S&P 500 fell 1.5% or 72 points to 4,548, while Nasdaq fell 1.3% or 200 points to 14,967.
Copper falls on worries about Omicron and global demand
Copper prices fell on Monday, amid concerns about weak global demand for commodities and metals due to the Omicron variant.
Several European countries, such as the UK, started to see record daily spike in Covid-19 infections due to the Omicron outbreak, which threatens another lockdown and closures.
Countries such as Denmark, Norway and Austria have also tightened restrictions on citizens, especially on the unvaccinated.
The American biotech frim Moderna reported that a booster shot of its vaccine protect from Omicron infection.
The dollar index fell against a basket of major currencies by 0.2% to 96.3 points as of 14:41 GMT, after hitting a high of 96.6 points and a low of 96.3 points.
Copper March futures fell 0.2% to $4.28 per pound as of 14:36 GMT.
Brent dives to 3-week low on global demand concerns
Brent crude continued fall as the US market opened on Monday, deepening losses for the second straight day and hit a 2-week low due to fears over a global demand for fuel and increasing market surplus, due to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant in most parts of the world, and warnings from the World Health Organization.
Brent crude fell 4.6% to the lowest since December 3 at $69.64 a barrel, after opening at $72.76, and hit a high at $72.80.
Brent fell 2.25% on Friday, the first loss in three days due to the increasing Omicron cases.
Oil prices lost around 2.5% last week, the seventh straight weekly loss, due to renewed concerns about the market balance.
The spike in Omicron-Covid cases in Europe and the US raised concerns about the return of lockdown restrictions which would impact the global fuel demand.
The British Health Minister refused to rule out re-imposing further restrictions before the Christmas holidays, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is reportedly considering urging the public to limit household mixing at Christmas.
The Netherlands went into lockdown on Sunday, with more lockdown restrictions looming before the Christmas and New Year holidays in many European countries.
The World Health Organization said on Saturday that Omicron cases are doubling in 1.5 to 3 days in areas with community transmission, adding that there are still limited data on the clinical severity of Omicron.