Yen bid as new Covid-19 variant hits risk mood

<div aria-hidden="true"></div> <p><strong>Overnight Headlines</strong></p> <div aria-hidden="true"></div> <p>*USD was mixed against its peers in thin holiday trade</p> <p>*US stock futures are firmly in the red on the new Covid-19 variant</p> <p>*Gold rebounds from SMA support above $1800</p> <p>*Oil drops over 2% on fears over reopening demand</p> <div aria-hidden="true"></div> <p><strong>USD</strong> remained near recent highs. Safe havens were bid as the new South African variant shook risk sentiment. JPY and CHF have taken centre stage with commod$s suffering. AUD is heading for the year-to-date August low at 0.7105. NZD is on its sixth straight day of declines, closing in on the 0.6805 August low. GBP/USD posted new lows for the year close to 1.33.</p> <div aria-hidden="true"></div> <p><strong>US equities</strong> were closed for Thanksgiving. Markets in Asia have seen steep falls, suffering their sharpest drop in three months. Hospitality and travel stocks are getting hammered. US futures are seen down roughly 1% currently. European markets are set to open over 2% lower.</p> <div aria-hidden="true"></div> <p><strong>Market Thoughts – Covid concerns blow up</strong></p> <div aria-hidden="true"></div> <p>Markets were relatively quiet yesterday with stocks mildly stronger with the US closed. That has changed rapidly overnight after the detection of a new and possibly vaccine-resistant coronavirus variant in South Africa. Investors have dumped risk assets and flocked to havens.The South African rand has fallen to its lowest in a year. The dollar has fallen back versus the yen and swissie.</p> <div aria-hidden="true"></div> <p>The major concern is the mutation profile, which could make current vaccines less effective. Data is still incoming, but markets are acting first. The WHO hold a meeting later today on the variant, so it will be worth listening to the wires.</p> <div aria-hidden="true"></div> <p><strong>Chart of the Day – Yen crosses on a tear</strong></p> <div aria-hidden="true"></div> <p>It’s tough to pick out one JPY pair when we see moves of this magnitude. It’s a Friday and over a US holiday so price action may be exaggerated with illiquid volumes. GBP/JPY and NZD/JPY look interesting as they break down and approach long-term SMAs. </p> <div aria-hidden="true"></div> <p>The former has fallen through the 50-day and 100-day SMA today. It is currently trading on the 200-day SMA around 152.39. Previous November support sits right here, and a Fib level was touched earlier in the session. If see more downside and a weak close, bears will target the next Fib level at 150.54. A bounce will come into initial resistance at 152.64, the 100-day SMA.</p> <figure><img loading="lazy" width="1021" height="486" src="https://www.vantagefx.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/VAN-GBPJPY-26-Nov.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-33290" srcset="https://www.vantagefx.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/VAN-GBPJPY-26-Nov.jpg 1021w, https://www.vantagefx.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/VAN-GBPJPY-26-Nov-300x143.jpg 300w, https://www.vantagefx.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/VAN-GBPJPY-26-Nov-768x366.jpg 768w, https://www.vantagefx.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/VAN-GBPJPY-26-Nov-710x338.jpg 710w" sizes="(max-width: 1021px) 100vw, 1021px" /></figure> <p><a href="https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/facebook?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vantagefx.com%2Fnews-centre%2Fmarket-news%2Fnew-covid-19-variant-hits-risk-mood%2F&amp;linkname=Yen%20bid%20as%20new%20Covid-19%20variant%20hits%20risk%20mood" title="Facebook" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a><a href="https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/twitter?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vantagefx.com%2Fnews-centre%2Fmarket-news%2Fnew-covid-19-variant-hits-risk-mood%2F&amp;linkname=Yen%20bid%20as%20new%20Covid-19%20variant%20hits%20risk%20mood" title="Twitter" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a><a href="https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/linkedin?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vantagefx.com%2Fnews-centre%2Fmarket-news%2Fnew-covid-19-variant-hits-risk-mood%2F&amp;linkname=Yen%20bid%20as%20new%20Covid-19%20variant%20hits%20risk%20mood" title="LinkedIn" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a><a href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vantagefx.com%2Fnews-centre%2Fmarket-news%2Fnew-covid-19-variant-hits-risk-mood%2F&amp;title=Yen%20bid%20as%20new%20Covid-19%20variant%20hits%20risk%20mood" data-a2a-url="https://www.vantagefx.com/news-centre/market-news/new-covid-19-variant-hits-risk-mood/" data-a2a-title="Yen bid as new Covid-19 variant hits risk mood"></a></p>The post <a href="https://www.vantagefx.com/news-centre/market-news/new-covid-19-variant-hits-risk-mood/">Yen bid as new Covid-19 variant hits risk mood</a> first appeared on <a href="https://www.vantagefx.com">Vantage</a>.<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.vantagefx.com/news-centre/market-news/new-covid-19-variant-hits-risk-mood/">Yen bid as new Covid-19 variant hits risk mood</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.vantagefx.com">Vantage</a>.</p>