1) Thailand sees significant increase of tourist arrivals after easing Covid restrictions
Thailand saw a surge of international arrivals over the first three days of April after the government approved a suspension of the requirement for a Covid-19 test prior to the boarding from the origin and easing restrictions for travelers.
Tourist arrivals are required to take RT-PCR tests upon arrival and are required to stay in their pre-booked hotels until a negative result is available. On the fifth day upon arrival travelers are also required to take an antigen self-test (ATK).
2) Oil extends losses on surging supply concerns in the market
Oil prices extended losses on Monday as investors continued to monitor the release of strategic oil reserves from major consuming nations such as the United States of America. Meanwhile, a two-month truce in Yemen could also ease supply disruption concerns in the Middle East as well.
In the morning of Asian trading session, Brent crude dipped 0.48% to $103.89 per barrel, and West Texas Intermediate fell 0.33% to $98.94 per barrel.
3) Investors look forward to Fed’s Wednesday minutes for monetary outlook
Investors are looking ahead to the Fed’s minutes that will be released on Wednesday for an update on the monetary policy outlook and its plan for tightening the balance sheet after hiking interest rates by 0.25 percentage points last month.
Economists are anticipating that the U.S. solid employment report could pave the way for the Fed to increase the policy rate by 0.50 percentage points in May.
