Hot inflation, recession-related concerns and quantitative tightening continued to be the major key words dominating financial markets throughout the week as central bankers ponder coming changes of policy based upon the available data particularly the labour market developments. New U.S. jobless claims fell slightly to 184,000 in mid-April and stayed …
Read More »Market Drivers – US Session – Friday 22 April
Total assets on the Fed’s weekly balance sheet as of April 20, released this afternoon, declined to $8.955 trillion, roughly the same as on March 16 and below the levels of March 23 and April 13. Beyond the week-to-week ups and downs, caused by the peculiarities of Mortgage Backed Securities …
Read More »US Rig Count Higher As Oil Rally Halts
The number of total active drilling rigs in the United States rose by 2 this week, after an increase of 4 rigs in the week prior, according to new data from Baker Hughes published on Friday.The total rig count increased to 695 this week—257 rigs higher than the rig count …
Read More »Oil slips, posts nearly 5% weekly loss on growth concerns
Oil slipped on Friday, posting a weekly loss of nearly 5%, on the prospect of weaker global growth, higher interest rates and COVID-19 lockdowns in China hurting demand even as the European Union considers a ban on Russian oil that would tighten supply.Brent crude settled down $1.68, or 1.6%, at …
Read More »Why does Yellen Ponder lower US tariffs on Chinese goods?
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Friday that it is worth considering steps to lower US tariffs on Chinese goods in order to ease inflation, and that there would be some “desirable effects” of lowering tariffs. Speaking in a CNBC interview earlier in the day, Yellen stated on Friday …
Read More »WTI trades around $100 as traders trapped by slowdowns, supply concerns
WTI trades a few dollars lower on Friday but is within recent intra-day ranges in the low $100s. Amid a lack of fresh developments, oil traders are mulling various oil market-relevant themes.Crude oil prices continue to trade in uneventful fashion, with front-month WTI futures stuck within their intra-day ranges of …
Read More »Oil is heading for a weekly decline of about 4% as demand concerns persist
Oil prices fell on Friday, heading towards a weekly decline of about four percent, affected by expectations of higher interest rates, weak global growth and restrictions to combat Covid-19 in China, which negatively affected demand, although the European Union is considering banning Russian oil imports. By 0130 GMT, Brent crude …
Read More »Gold Sets To Recover On Powell’s Comments, Hopes
The odds of a 50 bps interest rate hike have elevated after Fed Powell’s comments at the IMF meeting. Higher inflation pressures in a very tight labor market are compelling for squeezing the liquidity. A double bottom formation has raised expectations of a reversal in the gold prices.Gold price has …
Read More »Piper Raises natural gas price forecast
Piper Sandler commodity analysts updated the bank’s US natural gas forecast Thursday, flagging increased exports, increased demand and “pervasive capital discipline” all leading to higher medium-term natural gas prices (UNG).Analysts now see Henry Hub (NG1:COM) averaging $6.50 in 2022, $5.50 in 2023 and $4.00 long-term; compared to prior estimates of …
Read More »German exports to Russia fell 57.5% in March
Germany’s exports to Russia fell 57.5 percent to 1.1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) in March due to sanctions imposed on Moscow after its invasion of Ukraine, the German Federal Statistics Office said on Thursday. This pushed Russia down from the fifth largest market for Germany outside the European Union in …
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