Market Update

Gold prices declined on Wednesday, closing at their lowest level in about nine months, amid the rise of Treasury yields and the U.S. Dollar (USD). The yellow metal futures for April delivery closed lower by $17.80, or 1%, at the level of $1,715.80 per ounce. This is the lowest finishing level …

European stocks showed a mixed performance on Wednesday, as markets continued to monitor changes in Treasury yields and new economic data that signal signs of recovery from the Coronavirus pandemic. The pan-continental STOXX Europe 600 index closed nearly unchanged, after rising earlier in the session by as much as 0.7%. …

Rising Treasury bond yields in Eurozone are not a reason for concern, according to the President of Deutsche Bundesbank, Germany’s central bank, Jens Weidmann. Weidmann, who also serves as member of the European Central Bank (ECB) Governing Council, said in a TV interview with Bloomberg on Wednesday that he “would …

Crude oil inventories in the United States surged by 21.6 million barrels last week, according to the weekly report of the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) issued on Wednesday. The rise in oil supplies is much higher that what the market expected, as the S&P Global Platts survey expected an …

The President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, Patrick Harker, said on Wednesday that the United States economy loses trillions of Dollars every year due to racial and gender inequalities. Harker said that as the American economy recovers from the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic, it is essential to …

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has on Wednesday identified climate change, financial technology (FinTech), and conflicts of interest as the priorities of its Division of Examinations this year. The examinations division revealed in its annual priorities that climate-related risks, meaning environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks, as …

Mortgage rates in the United States saw their biggest increase in about a year last week, reaching their their highest level since July 2020, amid a surge in U.S. Treasury bond yields, Reuters reported. The contract rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage leveled up by 0.15% to 3.23% in the …

The United States services sector Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) declined by 3.4% to 55.3% in February, down from the January reading of 58.7%, data by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) showed on Wednesday. The reading signaled the ninth consecutive month of expansion in the economic activity of the sector. The …

The United States services sector’s business activity index rose in February, recording its fastest expansion since July 2014, according to data by IHS Markit The seasonally adjusted final US services purchasing managers index (PMI) increased to 59.8 in February, up from 58.3 in January. The final reading for last month …

Employment in the US’ private sector increased by 117,000 in February, the monthly data published by the Automatic Data Processing (ADP) Research Institue revealed on Wednesday. This reading fell short of the market expectation of 177,000. On a positive note, however, January’s reading got revised up to 195,000 from 174,000.