Market Update

The Omicron variant would not discourage the Monetary Policy Committee from hiking rates. The BoE needs flexibility to deal with unforeseen events after Boris Johnson had announced the reintroduction of mask-wearing and travel restrictions. A rate hike will do nothing to counterbalance the pressure the new variant will place on …

The Bank of Canada’s last announcement on its benchmark policy rate has started out a wave of speculation about the possible future trajectory of Canada’s housing market, with the news that it expected rate hike potentially as early as April 2022.There will be an end to the record-low interest rates …

The Swiss National Bank has ceased to stand in the way of the franc’s appreciation, according to data published on Monday, in an eye-catching change in view of the safe-haven currency’s rise to its highest against the euro in more than six years.The central bank’s apparent stance will confound investors …

Gold eased on Monday, resuming a broad decline from the previous week, as the dollar has firmed and risk sentiment recovered with markets weighing how severe the economic impact would be from the Omicron coronavirus variant.Spot gold fell 0.4% to $1,784.41 per ounce by 11:17 a.m. ET (1617 GMT) after …

Oil prices have continued to press higher, with front-month WTI crude futures now up more than USD 4.0 on the day and back in the USD 72.00s, nearly 50% of Friday’s steep decline over news on Omicron variant concerns has now been unwound.To get above the 50% Fibonacci retracement of …

Pending Home Sales in the US jumped by 7.5% on a monthly basis in October following September’s 2.3% drop, data published by the US National Association of Realtors showed on Monday. That saw the Pending Home Sales index jump to 125.2 in October from 116.5 in September. On a YoY …

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday he would never support a rate hike and “never back down from it”, repeating his support for recent interest rate cuts that have caused the lira to plummet. NTV quoted Erdogan as telling reporters during his return flight from a visit to …

Oil prices rose on Monday, November 29, on speculation that OPEC + may halt the increase in oil production in light of the spread of the Omicron strain of the Coronavirus, but the atmosphere remains cautious in light of insufficient information about the new mutation. There is concern that the …

The annual Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), the European Central Bank’s preferred gauge of inflation, rose to 6.0% from 4.6% in October, compared to analysts’ estimate of 5.4%. MoM, the HICP was up 0.3%, above consensus expectations for a 0.5% drop.

The dollar rose while the euro fell, and the yen stabilized on Monday as markets calmed after the first shock of discovering a new coronavirus mutant. The mutant Omicron, which was first detected in South Africa, caused global concern, as financial markets fell on Friday, amid fears that its appearance …