- Oil rallies for a fourth-consecutive day, hitting its highest in two and a half weeks
- WTI gained nearly $1 this morning to trade around $79/Bbl
- The USD Index (DXY – a proxy for U.S. Dollar strength against a basket of six international currencies) continued to weaken relative to its recent highs
- A weaker dollar (DXY Index) can cause foreign buyers of dollar-denominated commodities to pay less for the same amount of goods
- China to cut quarantine requirements for international travelers and stick to its complete reversal of the Covid-zero policy
- A winter storm moving toward North America is likely to affect the whole of the U.S., according to CNN
- China continues to struggle with COVID infections after curbs ease (BBG)
- According to Airfinity Ltd., a London-based research company that specializes in predictive health analytics, the nation likely has 1 million Covid cases and 5,000 viral deaths every day
- The group sees the daily case rate might increase to 3.7 million in January
- A complete change in how the virus is perceived is shown by the fact that Chinese workers with mild Covid infections are being told to return to work in some cities as officials try to reduce the economic impact of a spike in cases as the country reopens
- AEGIS notes that China's swift reversal of its Covid-zero policy has given rise to optimism for the long-term demand, although the near-term forecast is uncertain due to surging virus cases