Japan says it found new coronavirus variant similar to UK strain – Bloomberg

Bloomberg came out with the news signalling a new coronavirus (COVID-19) variant, having similar characteristics to that from the UK’s covid strain, during its latest news.

The report relied on the comments from Japan’s National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) that said, authorities have found a new strain of the coronavirus in four passengers arriving from Brazil.

The NIID also said, per the report, “The new variant has similarities to strains found in the UK and South Africa.” Updates from the Asian major also convey, “The information about the new variant is limited to its genetic make-up, and it’s difficult to immediately determine how infectious the strain is or the effectiveness of current vaccines against it.”

Market implications

Although the news should ideally weigh on risks, the risk barometer in Asia, AUD/USD, remains mostly positive around 0.7750 by press time. The reason could be traced from increased hopes of the US covid aid package.

Read: AUD/USD: Bulls and bears jostle around mid-0.7700s amid US stimulus hopes