Industrial metals were hammered in China on Monday, iron ore futures are off 10% as I update. Oil has been hit also. The coronavirus situation in China appears to be worsening. Shanghai has ordered a further round of mass testing for tomorrow (Tuesday)and barriers have been erected in the city with no announcements apparent. Beijing appears to be next in line for lockdown restrictions as cases spread. Grocery stores in the city report empty shelves as consumers rush to stock up.

Emmanuel Macron won the 2022 French Presidential election. Macron is the first French president to win re-election for two decades, since Jacques Chirac in 2002. The rejection of the far-right alternative Le Pen was seen less as an endorsement for Macron and more as a show of solidarity against Putin and his allies. EUR ‘gapped’ up from its Friday’s closing level on the election result but the retrace was fairly quick (over following hours) and has since extended to lows for EUR/USD under 1.0780. EUR is not the only currency to have lost ground against the dollar today. AUD, NZD, GBP, CAD all down to varying extents.

Onshore and offshore Chinese yuan (CNY and CNH respectively) have continued their sharp declines against the dollar.

It was a holiday today in Australian and New Zealand markets.

cnh 25 April 2022