Germany’s Spahn: Another 10 weeks of covid vaccine shortage likely

Dhwani Mehta FXStreet

“We'll experience at least another 10 weeks of vaccine shortage,” Germany’s Health Minister Jens Spahn said on Thursday.

This comes after reports said last week that the EU would get 60% fewer doses of the vaccine than promised for January-March 2021.

A meeting between the European Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides and AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot held on Wednesday, failed to secure commitments from the drug maker to address a “massive” shortfall in coronavirus vaccine production.

Kyriakides said: “We regret the continued lack of clarity on the delivery schedule and request a clear plan from AstraZeneca for the fast delivery of the quantity of vaccines that we reserved for Q1.”

Meanwhile, Soriot blamed the EU for being three months slower than the UK in finalizing its purchase agreements for the vaccine, earlier this week.

Separately, Germany’s Interior Ministry confirmed that Europe’s top economy is preparing entry restrictions for travellers from the UK, Brazil and South Africa.

Market reaction

The above comments are not going to go down too well, as the market sentiment remains tepid amid mounting covid and global growth concerns.

EUR/USD was last seen trading at 1.2092, down 0.12% on the day, as the safe-haven dollar remains broadly bid amid risk-averse market conditions.

Author

Dhwani Mehta

FXStreet

Residing in Mumbai (India), Dhwani is a Senior Analyst and Manager of the Asian session at FXStreet. She has over 10 years of experience in analyzing and covering the global financial markets, with specialization in Forex and commodities markets.

EUR/USD looks apathetic around 1.1770

EUR/USD comes under renewed pressure on Tuesday, deflating below the 1.1800 support and reversing two consecutive days of gains. The pair’s decline follows the persistent move higher in the US Dollar, as trade uncertainty dominates the sentiment ahead of President Trump’s SOTU speech.

GBP/USD regains 1.3500 and above

GBP/USD extends its advance for the third day in a row on Tuesday, this time retesting the area beyond the 1.3500 hurdle. Cable’s uptick comes despite decent gains in the Greenback and the dovish message from the BoE’s Bailey at the UK Parliament.

Gold appears offered around $5,150

Gold is giving back a good portion of the recent multi-day rally, receding to the $5,150 zone per troy ounce amid the decent bounce in the US Dollar and mixed US Treasuty yields. In the meantime, markets’ attention remain on upcoming comments from Fed speakers.

Crypto Today: Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP come under renewed pressure amid ETF outflows, tariff uncertainty

Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple are trading under increasing selling pressure at the time of writing on Tuesday, as market participants navigate renewed tariff uncertainty. The Crypto King holds above $63,000, down 2% intraday from its $64,656 open.

The Citrini report: How a debatable AI narrative can shake Wall Street

That AI-related headline alone was enough to rattle investors.US stocks slid sharply on Monday after a widely circulated Citrini Research memo outlined a hypothetical “2028 Global Intelligence Crisis”, warning that rapid AI adoption could push US unemployment into double digits as early as by mid-2028.

XRP pressured by weak ETF flows and declining retail interest

Ripple (XRP) is edging lower, trading above its intraday low of $1.32 at the time of writing on Tuesday. The decline from its weekly opening of $1.39 reflects heightened volatility in the broader cryptocurrency market, accentuated by tariff-triggered uncertainty.