Market Update

Outgoing Fed Vice Chair Richard Clarida, who will resign from his position on Friday, two weeks before the end of his term, said on Thursday that commencing policy normalization in 2022 would be entirely consistent with the Fed’s new flexible average inflation targeting framework. The US economy is well above …

Chicago Federal Reserve President Charles Evans said on Thursday that three rate hikes in 2022 would be a good “opening bid”, though it could be four if inflation doesn’t improve fast enough.Evans added that he is reluctant to declare that the US has reached full employment, but that inflation is …

UK pubs, bars and restaurants saw hefty drop in trading over Christmas and New Year, while more Americans filed new jobless claims last week. Trading at hospitality venues slumped by 60% on Christmas Day, 31% on Boxing Day and 27% on New Year’s Eve, compared to 2019’s pre-pandemic levels.The figures, …

US equities mostly fell on Thursday, with losses in large-cap tech stocks leading the fall. The S&P 500 was last down about 0.5% and testing the 4700 level, while the Nasdaq 100 index was last down 1.4% and back nuder 15,700. Apple was down nearly 1.0%, Meta (Facebook) was down …

Wholesale inflation still shows lots of upward pressure on prices in the economy. The numbers: Wholesale prices rose just 0.2% in December to mark the smallest increase in 13 months, perhaps a sign that high inflation is finally starting to ease after the biggest run-up in nearly 40 years.The increase …

Fed Vice Chair nominee Lael Brainard, speaking at a hearing before the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday, said that the Fed’s actions will bring inflation down whilst also allowing the US labour market to make a full recovery. So far in the hearing, Brainard has not been questioned extensively on …

The headline US Producer Price Index (PPI) rose at an annual pace of 9.7% in December, according to the latest report from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics on Thursday. That marked a new series record high (PPI was first reported back in 2011) but was slightly below the median …

There were 230,000 initial claims for unemployment benefits in the US during the week ending January 8, data published by the US Department of Labor (DoL) revealed on Thursday. This reading followed last week’s print of 207,000 and came in above consensus market expectations for 200,000. to be updated …

Gold prices fell somewhat on Thursday, with the US Treasury bond yields rising, which compensated some of its previous losses, but the precious metal remained close to its one-week highs recorded in the previous session, as the dollar continued its decline. The price of gold futures in the United States …

The US Energy Information Administration expects US oil production to exceed pre-pandemic levels over the next year, supported by a jump in shale oil production, with high prices spurring producers to increase production. In its January Short-Term Energy Outlook, the administration said average US crude production could record 12.4 million …