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NEW YORK (Reuters) -A gauge of equities around the world fell on Monday and oil prices plunged as concerns about a new coronavirus strain in Britain overshadowed optimism over a vaccine-fueled rebound in economic growth.
FILE PHOTO: View of the NYSE building and tree decorations in the Financial District of Manhattan, New York City, New York, U.S., December 17, 2020. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon
U.S. stocks, however, trimmed their losses as investors also weighed the benefits of a $900 billion fiscal stimulus deal reached by Congress over the weekend. The benchmark S&P 500 ended only slightly lower after having fallen as much 2% earlier.
New Covid Strain Rekindles Demand Fears, Cause Near-3% Drop In Oil Prices
by Ship & Bunker News Team
Monday December 21, 2020 Fear over a new strain of Covid in
Britain,
Netherlands, and Italy thought to be significantly more transmittable than the original rekindled worries about a slower recovery in fuel demand and caused oil to drop nearly
3 percent on Monday. After it was announced that Britain s parliament was imposing tighter restrictions and other countries were prohibiting travel to the U.K., Brent settled down
$1.35, or
$1.36, or
Giovanni Staunovo, oil analyst at
UBS, predicted that European oil demand will suffer due to the new mobility restrictions: Investors need to be mindful that the road to higher oil demand and prices will remain bumpy.
New virus strain inflicts pain on equities - Newspaper dawn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from dawn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
GBP/EUR, GBP/USD Exchange Rates Whipsaw from Huge Intraday Lows
The Pound Sterling to Euro( GBP/EUR) exchange rate has recovered from 10-day lows amid hopes for compromise in Brexit fishing talks, markets braced for further high volatility
Pound Sterling volatility will remain high with sharp moves on coronavirus fears, trade disruption and Brexit uncertainty, amplified by a lack of liquidity and market positioning into the year-end period.
Further sharp moves in the pound are inevitable in the short term, especially with very choppy trading in all major currencies.
The lack of liquidity will increase the scope for sharp moves on Brexit headlines.
Sterling plunged yesterday and stocks across Europe fell as chaos at Britain’s channel ports dragged down markets that have been boosted in recent weeks by the prospect of a Covid vaccine.
The pound fell hard against the dollar and euroas countries cut transport ties with Britain, where a fast-spreading new strain of the coronavirus had broken out.
Spain, Hong Kong and India joined a growing list of nations, including France, Germany, Ireland and Canada, that have suspended some or all travel for Britons to ward off the new strain.
In Dublin, the main Euronext Dublin index fell 1.78pc, a large one-day drop but less than in Paris and Brussels.