Market Update

Canadians took advantage of elevated savings and low interest rates to buy houses in 2021. The Canadian economy grew at an annual rate of 6.7 per cent in the fourth quarter, much faster than the Bank of Canada was expecting, guaranteeing an interest-rate increase when policymakers announce the results of …

US, IEA Agree to Release 60 Million Barrels From Oil Stockpiles Amid Ukraine’s CrisisThe US and other major oil-consuming nations said Tuesday they willl release 60 million barrels of oil from their emergency stockpiles, sending a jolt of new crude supplies into the market amid a price surge caused by …

Filtering information is one of investors’ most important tasks. It is normally a difficult task under the best conditions, but right now, amid the fog of war, filtering information is nearly impossible.Away from reports, fake images and news from Russia and Ukraine, the fog is also engulfing a lot of …

Climbing commodity prices are a good catalyst to provide support to the Australian dollar. Subsequently, economists at Rabobank expect the AUD to break with its status of a high-risk currency and forecast the AUD/USD at 0.74 by year-end.AUD/USD to break with its traditional role of ‘higher risk’ G10 currency. Commodity …

Canadian Manufacturing PMI rose slightly to 56.6 in February, indicating continued robust growth in the manufacturing sector. That marked a slight gain from January’s 56.2 reading and was a little above expectations for 56.4.Markit Manufacturing PMI, released by Markit Economics, is based on data compiled from monthly replies to questionnaires …

A statement by the Saudi Cabinet on Tuesday renewed the kingdom’s support for the OPEC + agreement, which provides for an increase in the supply of crude exporters from the Organization and allied producers by 400,000 barrels per day each month. And the official Saudi Press Agency quoted a statement …

This Wednesday at 1500 GMT, the BOC is expected to raise its benchmark interest rate to 0.50% from 0.25% (an all-time low) for the first time since October 2018. There is no press conference following the March meeting. At its January meeting, the central bank left the key rate unchanged …

Palladium jumped on Tuesday on concerns that Western sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine could damage supplies, as the conflict also sent safe-haven gold prices higher. By 1043 GMT, palladium rose 3.6 percent to $2,577.38. It had reached its highest level since July 2021 at $2,711.18 last week. …

Oil prices rose on Tuesday as concerns about potential supply disruptions after the Russian invasion of Ukraine and associated sanctions overshadowed talk of a coordinated global drawdown of crude stocks to calm markets. Brent crude futures rose $3.04, or 3.1 percent, to $101.01. The benchmark touched a seven-year high of …

Shares in some European banks regained some of their gains on Tuesday after falling this week due to their links to dealings with Russia, but the sector remained volatile as the fighting in Ukraine continued. Shares of Austrian bank Raiffeisen rose 2.7 percent in early trading, partly offsetting a 14 …