The 1.5 million mark for Covid-19 deaths has been crossed

Ross J Burland FXStreet

The 1.5 million mark for Covid-19 deaths has been reached and the US continues to lead the toll, passing 13 million confirmed cases on the weekend.

Public health officials in various states of America have been announcing stricter stay-at-home rules and the jury is still out about whether Thanksgiving has led to another acceleration. Therefore, more states are likely to follow suit.

The US economy will face renewed headwinds over coming months, something stressed in this week's S&P 500 Index piece, S&P 500 Weekly Forecast: Investors getting set for the Santa-Clause rally built on a house of cards

However, investors are enthused with the first doses of Pfizer-BioNTech's Covid-19 vaccine on the move to the US from Belgium.

A panel of US advisers will now vote on how scarce, initial supplies of the vaccine will be allocated.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine candidate is tipped to be the first through the gate, which the FDA will make a decision about on December 10, followed by the Moderna vaccine, which the FDA will make a decision about on December 17.

LIVE: New York Governor Cuomoprovides an update on on the state’s COVID-19 efforts

Market implications

The US dollar has been under pressure following the vaccine news and has reached a 2.5 year low and is now testing key support:

Author

Ross J Burland

FXStreet

Ross J Burland, born in England, UK, is a sportsman at heart. He played Rugby and Judo for his county, Kent and the South East of England Rugby team.

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