US COVID-19 deaths surpass 150,000 - John Hopkins University

US coronavirus virus cases have risen 1.9%, above last week's 1.6% average as deaths surpass 150,000.

Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve's chairman, Jerome Powell, said today that the central bank will sustain historic monetary policy until it’s confident the economy has navigated through the Covid-19 pullback.

“We are committed to using our full range of tools to support the economy in this challenging time,” Powell said. “We have held our policy rate near zero since mid-March and have stated that we will keep it there until we are confident the economy has weathered recent events and is on track to achieve our maximum employment and price stability goals.”

“We have been purchasing sizable quantities of Treasury and agency-mortgage-backed securities in order to support orderly conditions in the markets which are vital to the flow of credit in the economy,” he added.

prior to these comments, the World Bank president David Malpass warned that the coronavirus pandemic is a "devastating blow" to the world economy and that the fallout could last for a decade. Billions of people will have their livelihoods affected by the pandemic, with up to 60 million potentially being pushed into "extreme poverty", he warned.

Markets are skittish and don't know where to turn, so safe havens such as the yen and gold will likely thrive for some time yet, all the while that the US dollar is losing its investment status allure.