Market Update

The European Union has decided to impose a EUR 225 million fine on WhatsApp, the messaging application owned by Facebook, due to breaching data protection rules. The EU Data Protection Commission in Ireland decided to impose the fine and require that WhatsApp changes how it explains terms, conditions, and privacy …

Canada registered a trade surplus in July with both imports and exports hitting new record high levels, according to the most recent data. The trade surplus reached CAD 778 million, with exports rising 0.6% and imports surging by 4.2%, as per Statistics Canada. June’s reading was revised to show a …

U.S. Treasury bond yields declined slightly on Thursday, with investors anticipating the jobs report and other major economic data. The benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yields eased to about 1.29% down from 1.301% on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the 30-year Treasury bond yield went near 1.905%, down from 1.919%. The return on the …

Oil prices rose on Thursday, with the recent decision and market forecasts by the OPEC+ sinking in and being properly digested by investors with the focus tilting towards coming economic data. In addition, Hurricane Ida are impacting crude oil and fuels supply chain in North America. Brent crude futures for …

Gold prices declined on Thursday, for the second consecutive session despite the U.S. Dollar (USD) and Treasury bond yields decreasing, falling for the third time this week. The yellow metal front-month futures lost $4.40 or 0.24% to finish at $1808.70 per ounce. This is the lowest closing level for gold …

Factory orders in the United States increased by 0.4% in July, data by the U.S. Department of Commerce showed on Thursday. Meanwhile, orders for durable goods decreased by 0.1%, while nondurable goods orders leveled up by 0.9%. Orders for capital goods, excluding aircraft and military items, increased by 0.1%.

U.S. natural gas supplies increased by 20 billion cubic feet (bcf) last week, according to data released by the United States Energy Information Administration reported (EIA) on Thursday. Gas supplies are down by 579 bcf compared with the same time in 2020, and 222 bcf below the five-year average of …

Canadian building permits declined in July by 3.9%, data by Statistics Canada showed on Thursday. The total value of building permits amounted to CAD 9.9 billion, rising by 21.8% on an annual basis. The reading comes against market expectations, after a 7.2% increase in June.

There were 340,000 initial claims for unemployment benefits in the US during the week ending August 28, the data published by the US Department of Labor (DOL) revealed on Thursday. This reading followed the previous print of 354,000 (revised from 353,000) and came in slightly better than the market expectation …

Russia’s production of oil and gas condensate fell to 10.43 million barrels per day in August from 10.46 million barrels per day in July, according to calculations made by Reuters based on an Interfax report citing data from the Energy Ministry issued on Thursday. Interfax reported that the total production …