Market Update

Gold prices continued to rise on Thursday for the third consecutive session, supported by the decline of the U.S. Dollar (USD) and Treasury bond yields. The yellow metal registered limited gains today, as recent inflation data eased reflation concerns and improved risk sentiment among investors. Gold futures for April delivery …

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) expects the recovery of the global demand for crude oil to be focused on the second half (H2) of 2021. OPEC’s monthly report, released on Thursday, expects global demand will rise by 5.89 million barrels per day (b/d) in 2021, raising its …

European stocks rose on Thursday to their best level in about a year, supported by the dovish tone of the European Central Bank (ECB), which earlier today decided to maintain interest rates and signaled plans to expand its asset purchases in the coming quarter. Reduced fears about a reflation gave …

The U.S. Dollar (USD) declined on Thursday as the recent inflation data helped ease reflation fears, pushed down Treasury bond yields, and improved risk sentiment, which reflected positively on other currencies. Market are reacting to the passing of the $1.9 trillion relief bill by Congress, which is expected to soon …

The inflation rate in Brazil exceeded 5% last month for the very first time in more than four years, as shown by official data on Thursday. Annual consumer inflation rose by 5.20% in February, its highest level since January 2017. The inflation rate exceeded market expectations of registering about 5.06%. …

Natural gas inventories in the United States decreased by 52 billion cubic feet (bcf) last week, according to the weekly report released on Thursday by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Working natural gas in storage reached 1,793 bcf as of Friday, March 5, the report showed. Gas stockpiles were …

The number of job openings in the United States rose by the end of January to 6.917 million, data showed on Thursday. The reading shown by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary (JOLTS) came better than expectations of 6.6 million job openings. The number …

Christine Lagarde, President of the Europen Central Bank (ECB), is delivering her remarks on the monetary policy outlook in a press conference following the ECB’s decision to leave the policy settings unchanged. “Overal economic situation is expected to improve in 2021.” “Uncertainty remains.” “Persistently high COVID rates, lockdowns weigh on …

There were 712,000 initial claims for unemployment benefits in the US during the week ending March 4, the data published by the US Department of Labor (DOL) revealed on Thursday. This reading followed the previous print of 754,000 (revised from 745,000) and came in better than the market expectation of …

The European Central Bank (ECB) decided to leave the interest rates on the main refinancing operations, the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility unchanged at 0.00%, 0.25% and -0.50%, respectively, as expected.