Market Update

The Canadian dollar strengthened against its US counterpart on Wednesday as oil prices surged and the Bank of Canada hiked interest rates as expected for the first time since October 2018 despite the crisis in Ukraine.Canada’s central bank hiked its key interest rate by 25 basis points to 0.50% to …

A US official said on Wednesday that the US assesses there have been no significant changes on the ground in Ukraine since Tuesday and that Russian force numbers in Ukraine have slightly increased, reported Reuters. There has been an increase in the Russian’s use of missiles and artillery target Kyiv, …

A Russian negotiatorssaid on Wednesday that a potential ceasefire will be discussed in upcoming talks with the Ukrainian delegation, reported Russia’s Interfax.The Russian delegation is waiting for talks with their Ukrainian counterpart in a second round of negotiations.Satellite images showed a 40-mile-long Russian military convoy approaching Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv …

European Central Bank Chief Economist Philip Lane said on Wednesday that the central bank stands ready to take whatever action is needed to fulfill its responsibilities to ensure that price stability and financial stability in the euro area is maintained, reported Reuters. Key Quotes:“The medium-term orientation allows for inevitable short-term …

US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, testifying before Congress on the first day of his semi-annual speech, said that it is time to move away from highly stimulative monetary policy settings.Monetary policy cannot address supply-side challenges and constraints, Powell added, stressing that “The US economy is very strong, the labor …

The Bank of Canada lifted interest rates by 25bps to 0.50% as expected on Wednesday, adding that it expected it will need to raise interest rates further. The BoC said that it would continue with the reinvestment phase of its balance sheet, maintaining its overall holdings of Canadian government bonds …

OPEC+ has agreed to stick to its existing output plan which entails 400K barrel per day hikes to oil output quotas each month in April, Reuters reported citing sources. The meeting of OPEC+ member nation oil ministers has now ended, Reuters reported. OPEC+ did not discuss increasing output quotas at …

Employment in the US private sector rose by 475,000 in February, monthly data published by the Automatic Data Processing (ADP) Research Institute revealed on Wednesday. That was well above economist forecasts for an employment gain of 378,000. Meanwhile, January’s estimate of employment change saw a substantial upgrade to show a …

Oil prices rose on Wednesday as fears of supply disruptions mounted in the wake of massive sanctions on Russia’s banks as fighting intensified in Ukraine, while traders scrambled to search for alternative oil sources in an already tight market. Brent crude futures rose more than $8 to touch a peak …

Palladium extended its rally for the third consecutive session on Wednesday after sanctions imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine exacerbated supply concerns, while gold fell as US bond yields and the dollar rose. Palladium rose one percent, recording $2,604.61, after rising on Tuesday to its highest level since …