The COVID-19 shows declining trend during the second stage of the gradual normalization process in the country. The number of daily coronavirus cases fell to 5,386 and the death toll dropped 96 in the last 24 hours. Yet, the country still ranks 5th among 192 states with the highest number of cases. More than 5.2 million people have been infected and 48,164 people have lost their lives so far in the country, according to the Coronavirus Resource Center of John Hopkins. On the other hand, 30.7 million people have totally been vaccinated to date while 13.1 million of them have received the second dose.
In the light of slowdown in the spread of the pandemic, Germany has removed Turkey from the list of high risk COVID-19 countries and placed it on the ‘risk’ list. Russia extended its flight ban to the country from June 1 to June 21. This will cost the industry EUR 274m alone in June, according to the Russian Association of Tour Operators (ATOR), while Turkish tourism operators state the bill can reach USD 500m, according to daily DUNYA.
In the meantime, the Cabinet meeting has been scheduled for June 10 as President Erdogan will go to Brussels to attend the NATO Summit on June 14. President Erdogan will physically meet the U.S. President Joe Biden for the first time at the NATO Summit. The parties will discuss bilateral and regional issues.
Looking at the money market with these developments, USD/TRY hovers around 8.66-8.67 in the first trading day of the week after it broke a record by 8.88 following President Erdogan’s statement on possible interest rate cut. EUR/TRY is traded at 10.54 after it reached all-time highs last week.
After seeing below USD 1,900 with the impact of interest rates of the U.S. Treasury bonds, spot gold stands at USD 1,882 this morning. Brent crude, which exceeded USD 72 last week, declined to USD 71.15.
DAILY AGENDA
The Ministry of Treasury and Finance will reopen the 4-year (1,575 days) maturity semiannually fixed coupon bond and issue the 10-year (3,640 days) maturity semiannually CPI indexed government bond.
The Ministry of Treasury and Finance will release cash realizations for May (5.30 pm).
IN OUR MAGAZINE THIS WEEK:
>> On the cover: This week we look into the changing role of CFOs and how they are perceived through the lens of the CFO of the Future survey, conducted by The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and The Association of Accountants and Financial Professionals in Business (IMA). Filiz Demiroz, the Head of the ACCA Turkey Cluster (Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Afghanistan), evaluated the survey results for TR MONITOR, comparing Turkey’s results to global data. You can read the details in pages 13 and 14.
>> Professor Ilter Turan: A state hijacking shakes the international order. P. 10.
>> Q&A: Nevzat Aydin, Co-founder and CEO of Yemeksepeti, Chairman of the Board of Directors of GEN Turkey. P. 11.
>> “Our brands should be restructured in Asia,” says Murat Kolbasi, DEIK Asia and Pacific Business Council Coordinator and Chairman of Arzum. You can read the details in our ‘Diplomacy’ section on page 12.
>> Startup: Episome Biotechnologies plans five facilities in Europe in five years. P. 16.
>> Energy: Energy investments to defeat the pandemic: IEA Report. P. 22.
>> Zeynep Gurcanli: Israel-Palestine collided, Turkey lost. P. 24.
>> Do not miss Time Out’s alternatives for the week.
