Major vaccines proved effective against Omicron with boosters, DXY Index eases, GBP remains volatile as new lockdown begins

BioNTech and Pfizer confirmed on Wednesday that three shots of their vaccines neutralized the new Omicron variant in a lab test. This provides some early evidence that booster shots could be the key to protecting populations against this new variant. DXY Index eased a bit and plunged below the 96-level before it rises back and trades at 96.01 at press time.

Despite this new piece of evidence, GBPUSD remains volatile as a new round of lockdown is about to begin. Boris Johnson imposed a tougher lockdown in England, ordering people to work from home, wear masks and use vaccine passes. New cases reached 45,102 on Wednesday.

On the other hand, CNY continues to rise against the USD, with USDCNY currently trading at 6.3443. Some investors are worried that Beijing would not allow its currency to be further appreciated.