So, it isn't too surprising that a major impact has already been felt on the global currency markets.
Since December 2019's earliest case of coronavirus in Wuhan, China, the virus has spread alarmingly quickly, first across China in January and February, and then on to the rest of Asia including South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. Within weeks, it had arrived in Europe, the Middle East, North America, and Australia, so nobody was shocked when the WHO declared it to be a pandemic on 12th March.
Although much of Asia appeared to be recovering slowly by the end of March, Europe and North America both still had a rising death toll - a picture which continued through the month of April and on into May.
The Australian and Chinese Currency impact
A quick overview of the global currency market since the start of 2020 shows clear volatility. When the virus outbreak spread outside China, its impact was felt on every aspect of the world's economy. While China felt the first forex trading market hit, it didn't take long for the Australian Dollar to feel the impact since China remains Australia's biggest trading partner.
The impact on European currencies
The Euro has also suffered due to the virus. As the death toll rose to unprecedented levels in Spain and Italy, it wasn't too surprising to see the Euro on a rapid downward trend. Despite the European Central Bank's promises to inject an impressive 750 billion Euros into the economy as a way of mitigating the coronavirus's financial fallout, investors weren't convinced, choosing instead to favour the American Dollar as the more stable currency.
Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom, the slow implementation of safety measures to protect against the disease meant that investors' confidence in Sterling dropped too. When the Bank of England reduced the base interest rate down to 0.1%, investors began to sell, driving its value - already affected by the ongoing uncertainties over Brexit - down even further.
The situation in the USA
In the USA, the situation was no better in terms of preventing the disease from spreading, interestingly, investors weren't deterred from purchasing the US Dollar. Much of this was because of the willingness of the Federal Reserve to provide more liquidity to the market, but partly it was down to the fact that, historically, the dollar has been viewed as a "currency of last resort", thus allowing for its value to be preserved. However, as the outbreak has put increasing strain on America's economic and medical stability over the past few weeks, a recession is on the cards, and, if and when this hits, it could seriously hamper recovery for the whole global economy.
The upshot for Forex investors
It isn't difficult to see why there is considerable uncertainty around today's global economy, and this has a direct impact on the forex market. Yet, a quick look at sites such as Forex.com UK will reveal that opportunities still exist to trade successfully while volatility is still rife. While this may not be the time for new investors to seize the day, for those with an eye for a successful trade and sufficient knowledge of the currency marketplace, there is profit to be made, and a silver lining even in this global pandemic cloud.
