The number of total coronavirus cases in 192 states exceeded 137 million and the death toll draws near 3 million according to the Coronavirus Resource Center of John Hopkins. Turkey ranks 8th among these 192 countries with the highest number of cases. Accordingly, more than 3.9 million people have been infected and 34,455 people have lost their lives in total so far in the country.
The daily number of coronavirus cases approached 60,000. Although these figures draw a pessimistic picture for now, the government looks at the situation from a more optimistic standpoint, which gives us hope… President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced yesterday that the country is shifting to the partial lockdown with a slight tightening of measures for two weeks starting as of today. However, the word ‘slight’ can transform to ‘much more permanent’ if there is no recovery in two weeks. So, it’s in our hands to improve it…
In accordance with new restrictions, the weekday curfew will start at 7.00 p.m. instead of 9.00 p.m. and last until 5.00 a.m., during which inter-city travel will also be banned except for necessary and urgent situations. A nationwide weekend curfew that was re-enforced on April 2 will continue until May 17. Cafes and restaurants will also only provide home delivery and takeaway services while wedding halls, sports centers and game halls will be closed until the end of the Eid holiday marking the end of Ramadan in the country. Under these circumstances, all employees most likely will become ‘BBC dads, moms or children…’
While we come to the middle of the week with these developments, there is another important agenda in front of us: The Monetary Policy Committee (PPK) meeting. The PPK will convey tomorrow to determine interest decision, which will also be the first concrete step of the new management in terms of interest and monetary policy stance.
Looking at the money market, USD/TRY is traded at 8.08, while EUR/TRY appreciates at 9.67. Spot gold reached USD 1,747 per ounce.
Although oil prices increased due to OPEC’s expectation on higher oil demand and higher than expected decline in oil stocks of the U.S., concerns over the pandemic and increasing demand on energy resources pressure prices. Brent crude increased by 1.41% to USD 64.57 per barrel.
DAILY AGENDA
The Turkish Statistical Institute released Producer Price Index of Agricultural Products. Accordingly, the index increased by 22.06% on annual basis, while it rose by 2.52% on monthly basis in March.
