Market Update

A report released by the Commerce Department on Friday showed personal income in the US increased by less than expected in the month of December.The Commerce Department said personal income rose by 0.3 percent in December after climbing by an upwardly revised 0.5 percent in November.Economists had expected personal income …

Market observers believe the FOMC will announce the commencement of balance sheet reduction at the July 27 meeting. They look for the Federal Reserve to hike the Fed Funds rate by 125 bps in 2022.It is likely that the Committee will hike rates by 25 bps at the March 16, …

The Bank of Canada kept the interest rate unchanged this week but signaled imminent tightening at the next meeting in March. Next week, the key economic event will be the jobs report on Friday. Analysts at RBC Capital Markets see a drop of 70000 in employment in January. Key Quotes: …

Data released on Friday showed the Employment Cost Index (ECI) rose 1% during the fourth quarter, and 4% during the year. Analysts at Wells Fargo point out the quarterly increase was more restrained than Q3’s 1.3% gain, and they consider that may tamp down fears of a wage-price spiral amid …

Gold climbed to its highest level since November at $1,853 on Wednesday but ended up losing more than 3% from that level to end the week deep in the negative territory below $1,800. Nonfarm Payrolls are forecast to rise by 238000 in January. The low bar suggests that there is …

The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment fell to 67.2 from the flash estimate of 68.7, its lowest reading since 2011. The University of Michigan’s (UoM) final estimate of the Consumer Sentiment Index came in at 67.2 in December, below the flash estimate of 68.7 released earlier in the month, and …

Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari said on Friday that he expects the Fed to raise rates at the March meeting.With inflation higher and lasting longer than expected, the Federal Reserve needs to take its foot off the monetary gas pedal “a little bit” to address imbalances between …

Oil prices rose on Friday, set for a sixth straight week of gains as geopolitical tensions continued to fuel supply concerns. Brent crude futures rose 63 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $89.97 a barrel by 1013 GMT, after reaching $91.04 on Thursday, the highest level since October 2014. West Texas …

European shares fell on Friday amid risk aversion on interest rate hike expectations and geopolitical tension in Ukraine, but some strong business results capped losses. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index fell 0.8 percent, heading for its fourth consecutive weekly decline. Auto and chemical stocks were the top losers. But luxury …

The dollar consolidated its gains on Friday and is heading for the largest weekly increase in seven months, as the greenback’s gains against other major currencies are supported by expectations of an interest rate hike. With financial markets factoring in an expected 30 basis point interest rate hike in March …