SMM: as the market continues to weigh the impact of the novel coronavirus epidemic and the vaccine, the dollar index fell, while US stocks and spot gold rose strongly, of which spot gold rose 1%, pushing towards the $1900 / ounce mark. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden recently promised to "restart" the current anti-epidemic policy, the first step is to promote the mandatory wearing of face masks across the United States. However, US media revealed that 16 Republican governors claimed to boycott Biden's "mask order." Biden said he would start calling Republican governors and mayors to encourage them to issue mandatory mask rules to slow the spread of the epidemic, POLITICO reported. But the latest response from these Republican governors is: "Don't waste your time."
Biden's "National Mask order" boycotted 16 Republican governors prepare to reject Biden's request
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said he would personally call the governor of the "red state" (a pro-Republican state) to persuade them to enforce the mask order to slow the popularity of novel coronavirus. The first reaction of these states is: don't waste time.
Almost all of the 16 Republican governors who opposed the statewide mask order told the POLITICO or publicly that they were prepared to reject Biden's request, despite new restrictions on businesses to limit the scale of public events to prevent their health care systems from being flooded.
(source: POLITICO)
South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt and Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts all say wearing masks should be a personal choice, not a legal obligation.
Noem spokeswoman Ian Fury wrote in an email: "Governor Noem provided her subordinates with comprehensive science, facts and data about the virus, and then she trusted them to exercise their personal responsibility to make the best decisions for themselves and their loved ones. She won't change that. "
The difficulties in implementing the mask order show how difficult it is for Biden to agree on a basic public health strategy after taking the oath of office.
Although President Trump is leaving office, he is prepared to exert strong influence on Republican officials and voters who largely support his efforts on the epidemic.
Although some governors expressed disappointment at the Trump administration's lack of support for testing and protective equipment at the beginning of the outbreak, most governors supported Trump's attitude on masks. They argue that neither Washington nor state governments should prescribe face-covering policies, saying they are onerous and unenforceable.
"if President-elect Joe Biden is confirmed as the next president, he will contact me with the order to wear a mask, and I will not agree to this order," Ricketts said at a news conference on Tuesday.
"as far as orders are concerned, I have made it very clear that I do not think this is the right thing to do," Stitt, who was infected with novel coronavirus earlier this year, said at a news conference on Tuesday. "it's a personal responsibility."
Several Republican governors, including Ricketts, require employees and sponsors of certain companies to wear masks, while others, such as Stitt, allow their largest cities to decide whether to wear masks.
Other Republican governors, such as Eric Holcomb of Indiana and Kay Ivey, of Alabama, have been issuing mask orders to their states for months, while Gary Herbert, the governor of Utah, announced statewide orders on Sunday night because hospitals in Utah were apparently overcrowded this month.
Asked about the possibility of forcing masks, a spokesman for Tennessee Governor Bill Lee told POLITICO, "nothing is impossible." Counties can carry out their own orders, and so far nearly 24 counties representing the state's population of 2/3 have chosen to do so. " The state reported a record number of hospitalizations and deaths this week.
"We need to be flexible in our decisions, but for now, he believes that a local-based approach is the most effective," Gillum Ferguson, a spokesman for Lee, wrote in an email.
Some federal health experts, such as Deborah Birx, coordinator of the White House coronavirus task force, have been urging Americans for months to wear masks to help slow the spread of the virus and advise the government to strengthen facial covering requirements.
The appeal intensified as the number of new cases in the United States broke the previous record in November, with an average of more than 100000 new infections a day.
Biden plans to implement a science-driven epidemic strategy as soon as he is sworn in. He also said that if governors do not accept his point of view, he will call the mayor and county magistrate to urge them to enact a ban on masks, thus taking the campaign to the local level.
He may have no choice because some Republican governors even refuse to acknowledge his election victory, and Republican state leaders agree that the mask order does not increase public obedience.
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds announced that customers and employees must wear masks in certain industries such as beauty salons and tattoo parlors, but she rejected the statewide order, saying the decision depended on personal responsibility.
Asked this week how he could work with governors such as Reynolds, Ricketts or Noem, Biden replied simply: "they will."
Although he was banned from working with federal agencies on transition issues, Biden reiterated this week that cloth masks are the single most important tool for the United States to contain the virus before distributing vaccines.
"the mask is not a political manifesto, but it is a good way to start bringing the country together," he said. This is to give back to all of us: a normal life, "he said at a news conference on Monday when he announced the formation of the novel coronavirus working group. The working group is composed of a group of senior public health experts. Biden's advisers said that if the governor does not cooperate, he will directly "bypass" the governor and "lobby" his mayors.
Market trend: gold US stocks "rise" sounded
The dollar fell on Friday as risk appetite in money markets eased as concerns about the economic impact of the surge in COVID-19 cases in Europe and the US dented initial enthusiasm for a possible vaccine.
The global market rose sharply on Monday after Pfizer announced that its experimental vaccine was more than 90% effective. The news led to a rise in the dollar and traders pulled out of long yen positions.
But traders became more risk-averse on Thursday and Friday after the presidents of the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank stressed that the economic outlook was still uncertain.
In the US market, the dollar fell 0.1 per cent against a basket of currencies to 92.83, an intraday low of 92.77.
(30-minute trend chart of US dollar, source: FX168)
"the market rally triggered by the US election and the news of an effective vaccine has gradually disappeared," Thu Lan Nguyen, foreign exchange strategist at Commerzbank, wrote in a report to clients. "
"however, there is a high probability that the market will not return to panic mode too soon," she said. She hinted that despite rising infection rates, the US economic recovery could continue.
Gold prices rose on Friday as the rising number of novel coronavirus infections around the world revived concerns about the economic losses caused by the epidemic, while doubts about potential novel coronavirus vaccine coverage further pushed up the price of gold as a safe haven.
Spot gold, which rose 1.0% to a high of $1896.74 an ounce, has fallen slightly. However, gold is still on track for its biggest weekly decline since the end of September, down 3 per cent so far, mainly due to optimism triggered by an effective Pfizer vaccine earlier this week.
(30-minute trend chart of spot gold, source: FX168)
"the novel coronavirus epidemic is raging in the US, and the uncertainty surrounding it and the possibility of more damage to the economy in the coming months are all good for bulls in the gold market," said Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals.
"everyone is excited about the vaccine, but then the harsh reality begins to emerge that it may not be available for public use until the end of winter or spring, before we have to get through some very rough waves."
U. S. stocks rose early Friday as investors renewed bets that they would benefit from a potentially effective vaccine and stocks that recover next year.
The Dow rose 255 points, or 0.9%. The s & p 500 index rose 0.8%, while the technology-dominated Nasdaq composite index rose 0.7%.
