Market Update

Gold prices declined on Thursday, snapping a five-session rising streak, amid increasing selling pressures with investors adjusting their positions amid losses by the U.S. Dollar (USD) and stocks markets. Given the recent rises, selling pressures might have also resulted from profit-making. Gold futures for August delivery lost $1.90, or 0.1%, …

European stocks dropped on Thursday, with all market sectors closing in red, amid worried about the new coronavirus (COVID-19) variants. The pandemic-related concerns are driving more investors into safe havens, such as the bonds, which is reflecting negatively on the stock market due to questions about maintaining the pace of …

Crude oil inventories in the United States declined last week for the seventh consecutive week, according to official data released on Thursday. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that crude inventories fell by 6.866 million barrels last week. The drop in oil inventories exceeded most market expectations of a …

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde has said that the new 2% symmetric inflation target means that level is not a ceiling. The ECB abandoned its “below, but close to 2%” target in its strategic review published earlier.

There were 373,000 initial claims for unemployment benefits in the US during the week ending July 2, the data published by the US Department of Labor (DOL) revealed on Thursday. This reading more than the market expectation for a reading of 350,000 and followed last week’s upwardly revised reading of …

Gold fell in Thursday morning in Asia as investors continued to digest the US Federal Reserve’s meeting minutes from the latest policy meeting. A stronger dollar and lower US Treasury yields also limited the yellow metal’s gains. However, the US dollar index and bond yields fell at the beginning of …

The European Central Bank has shifted to a symmetric inflation target of 2% contrary to a ceiling at that level, the decision was fully expected by markets. The ECB stated it would allow short-term deviations from that goal, including a moderate spell above target. This is a step back from …

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga approved the declaration of a state of emergency in Tokyo Thursday, July 8, in preparation for the Olympics scheduled to begin in two weeks. The declared state of emergency will continue until the end of the Olympic Games, due to fears that the organization will …

German exports rose again in May by 0.3%, indicating a continued recovery in Europe’s largest economy. The German Federal Statistics Office said Thursday, July 8 that seasonally-adjusted exports rose 0.3% month-on-month, after a downwardly revised 0.2% increase in April. Imports also rose by 3.4% month-on-month in May, topping Reuters expectations, …

Oil prices continued to plummet, amid uncertainty about the outlook for the OPEC+ agreement and output policies. Major producers are in disagreement about extending the current output cuts, which are gradually being eased, with recent talks about quotas and production levels not leading to a consensus. Brent crude futures for …