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Latest on the spread of COVID_19

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The COVID-19 pandemic is accelerating, the World Health Organization said, with more than 377,000 cases now recorded and infections reported from nearly every country. More than 377,400 people have been infected across the world and over 16,500 have died.

As far as the economy is concerned, global equities rebounded almost 2% today, off near four-year lows, and the dollar slipped as investors pinned hopes on unprecedented stimulus steps by the U.S Federal Reserve and other policymakers to ease strains in financial markets.

Evidence of the devastation to the global economy mounted today as activity surveys for March from Australia and Japan showed record falls, with surveys in Europe and the United States expected to be just as dire.

The pandemic is taking its toll on aerospace manufacturing, with Boeing saying it would halt production of most wide body jets and Airbus restarting only partial output after a four-day shutdown as suppliers cut jobs.

South Korea doubled a planned economic rescue package to 100 trillion won ($80 billion) today to save companies and put a floor under crashing stocks and bond markets.

Oil jumps on Fed steps to support economy

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 Oil jumped 5% on Tuesday to above $28 a barrel, supported by steps by the U.S. Federal Reserve to bolster the economy and hopes the United States will soon reach a deal on a $2 trillion coronavirus aid package.

Brent crude LCOc1 was up by $1.38 a barrel, or 5.1%, to $28.41 by 10:07 GMT. The global benchmark fell to $24.52 today, its lowest since 2003. U.S. West Texas Intermediate CLc1 gained $1.54, or 6.6%, to $24.90.

A Complete lockdown and curfew in Tajoura

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Today, at 6.00 PM, Tajoura municipality in eastern Tripoli will impose a complete lockdown and curfew within its administrative borders as a preventive measure against Coronavirus outbreak in Libya.

The municipality claimed that all shops and businesses will be closed, However, pharmacies, medical laboratories, clinics, hospitals, security, police and military apparatuses, as well as energy services will are excluded from this call.

According to the municipality’s statement issued yesterday, if any person had to enter Tajoura for urgent matters, they should contact the emergency committee to check their medical status and be allowed to enter if they were healthy and pose no threat to the community.

Nevertheless, the municipality urged citizens to buy their necessary goods and commodities before the lockdown starts, stressing that if anyone violates the lockdown regulations and curfew hours, he will pay 3000 LYD as a  fine.

IMF warns coronavirus may be worse than 2008 global financial crisis

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Yesterday, Economists at the International Monetary Fund now expect a global recession this year as a result of the coronavirus that could be worse than during the global financial crisis.

Georgieva issued the new outlook after a conference call of finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20 of the world’s largest economies, who she said agreed on the need for solidarity across the globe. She added that the coronavirus pandemic will cause a global recession in 2020 that could be worse than the one triggered by the global financial crisis of 2008-09 but world economic output should recover in 2021.

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva welcomed extraordinary fiscal actions already taken by many countries to boost health systems and protect affected companies and workers, and steps taken by central banks to ease monetary policy. “Even more will be needed, especially on the fiscal front,” she said.

“The human costs of the coronavirus pandemic are already immeasurable and all countries need to work together to protect people and limit the economic damage,”  IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said.

Georgieva said a recovery was expected in 2021, but to reach it countries would need to prioritize containment and strengthen health systems. “The economic impact is and will be severe, but the faster the virus stops, the quicker and stronger the recovery will be,” she said.

Georgieva said the IMF would massively step up emergency finance, noting that 80 countries have already requested help and that the IMF stood ready to deploy all of its $1 trillion in lending capacity. moreover, The IMF called again on members to contribute funds to replenish its Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust to help the poorest countries.

ILO: Coronavirus could destroy millions of jobs

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The coronavirus pandemic could trigger a global economic crisis and destroy up to 25 million jobs around the world if governments do not act fast to shield workers from the impact, the International Labour Organization (ILO) said.

“However, if we see an internationally coordinated policy response, as happened in the global financial crisis of 2008/9, then the impact on global unemployment could be significantly lower,” ILo said.

The organization called for urgent, large-scale and coordinated measures to protect workers in the workplace, stimulate the economy and support jobs and incomes.

Libya: the National Centre for Disease Control discusses Covid-19 related issues

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The Director-General of the National Centre for Disease Control, Badr Al Din Al Najjar held a meeting with the head of the World Health Organization office in Libya, Elizabeth Hoff, on how to increase the efficiency of rapid response teams, and reviewed the role of the WHO in rehabilitating and training medical personnel in dealing with Covid-19 patients, especially in terms of isolation rooms and quarantine.

Tunisia accomodates about 862 Libyans

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 Foreign Ministry spokesman, Muhammad Al Qiblawi, stated that the Libyan General Consulate in Sfax has provided around 862 Libyan citizens stranded in Tunisia with accommodation.

In a press conference, Al Qiblawi stated that they provided the necessary medicines to a number of Libyan nationals suffering from chronic diseases, and will start distributing the medical supplies in order to prevent Coronavirus infection.

The Foreign Ministry tweeted that they will distribute personal protective equipment (PPE) to those stranded on the Tunisian side to safeguard them against the disease.

Gold surges over 4%

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Gold prices soared more than 4% on Monday, shrugging off early losses after the U.S. Federal Reserve took aggressive new steps to combat the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak, boosting investor sentiment.

Spot gold jumped 4.1% to $1,559.55 an ounce by 17:48 GMT. U.S. gold futures settled 5.5% higher at $1,567.60 an ounce.

Among other precious metals, silver jumped 4.9% to $13.19 an ounce, on track for its third straight session of gains.

Platinum gained 3.8% to $634.32 per ounce, while palladium rose 1% to $1,658.50.

Crude extends fall amid demand fears

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Today, oil prices extended their decline, with record low U.S. gasoline prices leading the energy complex lower, as the coronavirus pandemic crushes demand worldwide after travel and industrial activity contracted across the globe in a bid to stem the spread of the virus.

 Brent crude LCOc1 futures fell 47 cents to $26.51 a barrel, a 1.7% percent drop, by 1:26 p.m. ET (17:26 GMT). West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures for May delivery fell 4 cents, or 0.2%, to $22.59 a barrel.

Gasoline futures RBc1 in the United States, the world’s top consumer of the motor fuel, tumbled more than 20% to 46.74 cents a gallon, their lowest on record.

Both crude benchmarks have dropped for four straight weeks, with WTI slumping 29% last week, its steepest slide since the outset of the U.S./Iraq Gulf War in 1991.

Unauthorised fuel imports threaten Libya

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Yesterday, Libya’s National Oil Corporation issued a report stating that on 16 March, the tanker Gulf Petroleum 4 completed unloading of a cargo of aviation fuel at Benghazi port, where it had arrived on a direct journey from Sharjah in the UAE.

“Under Libyan law all importation of fuel must be carried out by NOC. This shipment was not authorised by NOC and was therefore illegal.” NOC claimed, adding that the authorities in the East of Libya have tried to justify the shipment by claiming untruthfully that NOC discriminates against people in the East by limiting the supply of fuel.

NOC Chairman Sanalla said, “We do not want to create further division or feelings of discrimination and grievance among the people of Libya. In fact, NOC’s highest goals are to maintain the unity of Libya and to serve the interests of all Libyans. Our employees live in all parts of Libya, hold all sorts of political beliefs, and have different preferences on how Libya should be governed. But they are united on this point: Libyan oil and gas production and revenues belong to all Libyans, and should be used to the benefit of all Libyans.”

“With respect to aviation fuel supplies, here are the facts: In the last twelve months the NOC has seen a huge increase in the demand for aviation fuel in the East of Libya. From 2015 to 2018 we supplied around 45,000 to 50,000 metric tonnes of aviation fuel per year to the Eastern region. In 2019 we supplied over 73, 000 tonnes, despite the fact that civil aviation traffic has reduced compared to previous years.” He added.