Market Update

Oil prices rose on Friday, extending their weekly gains, most of which came on the back of the commitment of the OPEC+ alliance to the agreed-upon production cuts. This week, oil prices kept rising to new highs not seen in a year. Brent crude futures for April delivery rose by …

Silver prices rose on Friday, ending a turbulent week for the metal that began with silver futures rising to their highest level since 2013, before dropping by more than 10% on Tuesday. Today, silver futures for March delivery gained 79 cents, or 3%, to finish at $27.019 per ounce. For …

Gold prices rose on Friday, supported by weak employment data in the United States and the anticipation for the passing of a new $1.9 trillion relief bill. In addition, the decline of the U.S. Dollar (USD) across the board helped provide support for gold. Today’s rise helped the yellow metal …

The number of active rigs drilling for crude oil and natural gas in the United States increased by 8 this week, according to the weekly reported released by Baker Hughes on Friday. The total rig count currently stands at 392, less by 398 rigs compared with the same time of …

European stocks closed mixed on Friday, amid anticipation for a wider rollout of Coronavirus vaccines. The pan-continental STOXX Europe 600 index closed unchanged, but logged weekly gains of 3.45%, supported by the improved risk sentiment that helped Wall Street score new record highs, as well as the positive performance by …

The Canadian Dollar (CAD) is rising against the declining U.S. Dollar (USD) on Friday, despite data showing that the Canadian economy continues to be impacted by the Coronavirus pandemic. Canada’s Ivey Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) rose last month, but remained below the 50-point mark, which signaled contraction for the second …

The U.S. Dollar (USD) declined on Friday, nearing to end the week on a negative note as the United States Congress nears the passing of the $1.9 trillion relief bill, proposed by President Joe Biden. The Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the performance of the greenback against a basket of …

Economic activity in Canada continued to contract during January for the second consecutive month, data showed on Friday. Although the seasonally adjusted Ivey Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) increased to a reading of 48.4 last month, from 46.7 in December, it remained below the 50 mark that indicates expansion. The Ivey …

The Unemployment Rate in Canada rose to 9.4% in January from 8.8% (revised from 8.6%) in December with the Net Change in Employment declining more than 212,000 (vs -47.5K expected), the data published by Statistics Canada revealed on Friday. This reading came in worse than the market expectation of 8.9%. 

Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) in the US increased by 49,000 in January, the data published by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics showed on Friday. This reading came in largely in line with the market expectation of 50,000. On a negative note, December’s reading got revised down to -227,000 from -140,000.