Market Update

A report by the Federation of Financial Markets in Europe said that the volume of trading in European government bonds increased to the highest level in five years in 2020. Added that the average annual trading volume increased 0.9% year-on-year to 71.7 billion euros last year, the highest since 2015. …

Inflation in Canada, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), was 0.5% in February, the data published by Statistics Canada showed on Wednesday. On a yearly basis, the CPI edged higher to 1.1% from 1% but fell short of the market expectation of 1.3%. Moreover, the Bank of Canada’s …

Housing Starts in the US declined by 10.3% on a monthly basis in February following January’s 5.1% decline, the data published jointly by the US Census Bureau and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development showed on Wednesday. Further details of the publication revealed that Building Permits fell by …

The US dollar rose on Wednesday, March 17th and 10-year Treasury yields approached a 13-month peak ahead of the US Federal Reserve meeting that may shed some light on the timing of future interest rate hikes and the bank’s tolerance for higher yields. Policymakers are expected to release forecasts for …

Inflation in the euro area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), stayed unchanged at 0.2% and 0.9% on a monthly and yearly basis, respectively, in February as expected. Further details of the report published by Eurostat revealed that the annual Core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy …

The US dollar index traded on the positive side on Wednesday near 91.90 amid a state of caution prevailing among traders ahead of the highly anticipated Fed meeting later in the day. Investors are anticipating that the Fed will raise growth forecasts after approving the massive stimulus package plus the …

The International Energy Agency said that oil prices are unlikely to rise sharply and continuously, despite the expectation that demand will be supported by vaccines later in the year, as the world is still awash with oil. She added in her monthly report, “The great rise of oil to close …

Japan shares closed flat on Wednesday, as gains in the health care sector were offset by profit-reaping selling in the technology sector, despite the continuing state of caution in general ahead of important meetings of the US Federal Reserve (central bank) and the Bank of Japan. The Nikkei index closed …

Gold rose on Wednesday, March 17th, hovering near its highest level in more than two weeks, amid expectations of a higher level of inflation, although trading was limited to a narrow range, with investors showing caution before the two-day policy committee meeting of the Federal Reserve. Gold rose 0.3% in …

Oil prices varied on Wednesday, March 17th, as concerns over volatile demand in Europe addressed hopes for a recovery in US refining activities, while industry data showed that US crude inventories fell unexpectedly last week. Brent futures were down 7 cents, or 0.1%, to $ 68.32 a barrel after initially …