Market Update

Housing starts in Canada declined by 19.8% in April, compared with their level in March, data showed on Monday. The decline comes due to the drop in building activity in urban areas, according to the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). The seasonally adjusted annualized rate of housing starts reached …

Home sales in Canada declined by 12.5% last month, according to data released by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) on Monday. Meanwhile, the average selling price decreased by 2.9% in April on a monthly basis, reaching CAD 696,000. On the other hand, the average selling price rose by 41.9% …

Oil prices moved within a limited range today, Monday, after concerns about supplies subsided to support the recovery of a major US pipeline network, but the imposition of new restrictions in Asia amid the escalation of Covid-19 cases affected sentiment. The gasoline shortage plaguing the east coast of the United …

Chinese factory production growth slowed in April from the jump in the previous month, while retail sales fell below analysts’ expectations, indicating that the recovery in consumption is coming under more pressure. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday showed that industrial production grew 9.8% in April compared …

Oil prices finished higher on Friday, managing to register their third consecutive weekly rise. A recent downstream disruption in the United States that resulted from an attack on the Colonial Pipeline, which led to fears about a drop in the demand for crude oil by refineries, appears to be at …

Gold prices rose on Friday, as the U.S. Dollar (USD) declined, further increasing their second consecutive weekly gains. The yellow metal futures managed to finish the week at their best level in about three months. It is worth noting that a recent surge in Treasury bond yields, due to fears …

The U.S. Dollar (USD) declined on Friday, returning to its downward trend after rising for two consecutive sessions, as Treasury bond yields fell. A surge in inflation, the biggest in more than a dozen years, prompted a decline in the yields of long-term debt instruments and led to varied expectations …

European stocks surged on Friday, strongly rebounding from recent losses that resulted from a sell-off wave, as fears about the rise in the U.S. inflation rate eased. The STOXX Europe 600 index gained 1.2% to finish at 442.55 points, but remained down for the week by about 0.5%. The auto …

The number of active rigs drilling for crude oil and natural gas in the United States rose by five to 453 this week, according to data by Baker Hughes on Friday. The weekly report indicated that the oil rig count increased by eight to 352 this week, as natural gas …

Consumer confidence the United States declined in the early days of the month due to the rise in the inflation rate, according to data by the University of Michigan released on Friday. The Consumer Sentiment Index rose decreased by 6.2% to 82.8 from 88.3 in April, but rose by 14.5% …