Market Update

Bitcoin moved above $50,000 for the first time since 13 December though the cryptocurrency trading on Friday around USD 50870.90, continued to take investors on a roller coaster ride in 2021.One thing that stood out was how crypto went mainstream. The biggest change was El Salvador becoming the first country …

China’s finance ministry has announced on Friday that they will be extending tariff exemptions on some imported goods from the United States until June 30, 2022. There was no immediate market reaction to this news as trading conditions remain thin on Christmas Eve. From January 2020 through November 2021, China’s …

Brent crude futures fell 1% to $76 a barrel on Friday, coinciding with holiday liquidity tightening and closures due to Omicron as US markets were closed for holidays. Although Omicron has caused some travel restrictions and increased infections, a British health agency said the mutant was less likely to lead …

European shares settled at the open on Friday in light of weak trading during the Christmas holidays, after global stocks rose recently on indications that the mutated Omicron may not derail the recovery of the global economy. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was stable by 0930 GMT, after rising nearly …

The dollar headed for its worst week since September, while other risk-friendly assets from bitcoin to the Australian dollar maintained their recent gains buoyed by easing concerns about the severity of the new COVID-19 mutation. MSCI’s Asia Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.2%, and Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.1% after the …

The Nikkei index gave up small gains and fell on Friday, as investor sentiment was negatively affected by the news of the discovery of the first local cases of the omicron of the coronavirus in Tokyo. The Nikkei fell 0.05 percent to close at 28,782.59 points, after rising by 0.25 …

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said Friday, December 24, that he expects relatively high gas prices next year, according to the Interfax news agency. Europe relies on Russia to provide about 35% of its natural gas needs, the price of which has risen to an all-time high on the …

Brent crude futures edged higher to USD 74.2 per barrel on Wednesday, after rebounding more than 3% in the previous session, as shrinking inventories and an energy crunch in Europe more than offset worries about new restrictions to combat the Omicron spread that could dent fuel demand. Oil prices fell …

For the second day in a row, positive sentiment has dominated financial markets worldwide on the back of some important US economic data and positive news about Covid-19.It is expected that the volume of transactions in the financial markets will witness a noticeable decline in liquidity rates, starting from Friday, …

So far, commodities have been the best performing asset class in 2021 amid record high prices, but will rising interest rates next year hold back the momentum of this investment?The sped-up tapering is signaling steeper interest rate hikes over the next two years, consequently, this will add to the US …