The spring is in the air and people tend to go out more, as it was the case this Saturday. Café and restaurant owners seemed to be happy about it but their concern on further closures could also been recognized. Their concerns are not without reason with the increasing number of coronavirus cases, which has not reached 30,000 yet but seem to be going there. More than 220,000 COVID-19 tests were conducted in the country while 29,058 infections were confirmed in the last 24 hours.
Vaccination on the other hand is still slow. Health Minister Fahrettin Koca stated that the country will proceed to the next phase and start vaccinating people aged above 60 and some risk groups. “Citizens identified in our vaccination system aged over 60 will be able to get vaccination by appointment with their spouses. In addition, some risk groups were included in the program,” said Koca on his Twitter account. Increase in cases and vaccination failures may end up with further closures. We will be knowing more after the cabinet meeting today.
Speaking of cabinet, all eyes are on President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s possible Cabinet revision today. Possible changes in the economy management can heat up the markets…
Considering other developments of the day, USD/TRY started the first trading day at 8.08, while EUR/TRY is traded at 9.53. USD/TRY, which fluctuated between 7.50-8.47, closed the markets at 8.08, while EUR/TRY reached 9.59.
Oil prices have started to decline following the news on refloating the Ever Given vessel in the Suez Canal. Oil prices, which reached USD 65 with the impact of the vessel’s interruption of international trade, is traded at USD 63.8 this morning.
Gold prices have fluctuated between USD 1,725-1,750 for two weeks. Spot gold stands at USD 1,726 per ounce this morning.
DAILY AGENDA
The Presidential Cabinet will convey under the presidency of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The current status of the coronavirus risk map and possible new measures will be discussed at the meeting. Moreover, decisions taken during the Scientific Advisory Board on March 25, will be tackled in detail. Minister of Internal Affairs Suleyman Soylu and Minister of National Defense Hulusi Akar are expected to give information about latest developments.
The Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) will release banking sector data for February (2.00 pm). The profit of the sector amounted to TRY 4.3bn in January.
