Market Update

Natural gas inventories in the United States increased by 49 billion cubic feet for the week ending July 16, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported on Thursday. Total natural gas stockpiles reached 2.678 trillion cubic feet, down by 532 billion cubic feet compared with the same time last year. …

After dropping for four consecutive months, US home sales rebounded modestly in June, with prices continuing to rise and inventories low. The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that existing home sales rose 1.4% in June after declining 1.2% in May. It rose 22.9 percent year on year in June. …

Earlier today, a spokesperson for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that Johnson had urged the European Union to seriously consider proposals related to the Northern Ireland Protocol during his discussion with EU Commission chief von der Leyen. “Our position remains that we are looking forward to significant changes in …

The US major stock indices opened mixed, close to Wednesday’s closing levels. Looking at the major indices, the S&P 500 is down 0.1% today, almost unchanged at 4,354, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is down slightly by 0.33% at 34,683, and the Nasdaq Composite opened slightly higher by 0.25% at …

The European Central Bank’s meeting today, Thursday, July 22, was quiet but announced new monetary policy targets that suggest extending support for a longer time to the eurozone economy while boosting inflation, which has been low for nearly a decade from its 2% target. The bank said it expects interest …

Data released by the US Labor Department on Thursday showed that there were 419k initial claims for unemployment benefits in the US during the week ending July 17. The previous month’s reading was 368k and market expectations were optimistic at 350k. The advance figure for the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate …

The European Central Bank decided to keep its monetary policy unchanged as widely expected in today’s meeting. The ECB left the interest rates on the main refinancing operations, the marginal lending facility, and the deposit facility unchanged at 0.00%, 0.25%, and -0.50%. EUR/USD remained close to the 1.1800 handle, unaffected …

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has expressed concerns over the alarming rise in coronavirus cases in the country and stressed the importance of vaccinations. Merkel said infection numbers are rising at an alarming rate and that the vaccination protects not just yourself but also people you care about. She also said …

Oil prices fell on Thursday after a sudden increase in US crude inventories and amid growing Covid-19 infections that threaten demand. Still, prices maintained most of the previous session’s gains due to expectations of continued tight supplies until the end of the year. At 06:44 GMT, Brent crude was down …

European stocks extended gains for the third consecutive session Thursday, July 22nd, with market sentiment boosted by signs of a strong earnings season and expectations that the European Central Bank will not deviate from its monetary easing policy. The STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 0.5% by 07:14 GMT. The index …