Market Update

Oil prices showed a mixed performance on Thursday, following the release of the American Petroleum Institute’s (API) weekly report that showed an unexpected rise in crude inventories in the United States. Accordingly, the U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for March delivery declined by 18 cents, or 0.3%, …

Gold prices declined marginally on Thursday, after closing yesterday at their highest level in about two weeks. This comes despite the continuous retreat of the U.S. Dollar (USD) amid expectations for increased government stimulus by the new Biden administration in the United States. Gold futures for February delivery lost 60 …

The U.S. Dollar (USD) declined on Thursday for the third consecutive session, with investors moving towards other currencies. This comes amid increased hopes for economic recovery amid the rollout of vaccines and the expansion of government stimulus in the United States, both of which has been promised by the new …

Bitcoin continues to decline on Thursday, for the second consecutive day, amid strong selling pressures. The biggest digital currency in the world has lost more than 9% over the past 24 hours, extending its losses over the past seven days to about 19.5%. Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency in terms of …

European stocks closed Thursday on a mixed note, following the European Central Bank’s (ECB) latest policy meeting in which it decided to maintain interest rates unchanged. The pan-European STOXX 600 index finished higher by 0.15%. Meanwhile, the French benchmark index CAC40 and the German DAX closed lower by 0.67% and …

The British Pound (GBP) is showing a positive performance on Thursday supported by recent remarks by the Bank of England (BoE) Governor Andrew Bailey that suggested the United Kingdom’s (UK) economy will strongly recover from the Coronavirus pandemic thanks to vaccination. “I really do think that we are going to …

Oil prices declined on Thursday following the release of inventory data in the United States, despite continuous hopes for increased government stimulus spending in the U.S. Crude oil inventories in the United States increased by 2.6 million barrels last week, against market expectations for another decline, according to the weekly …

Consumer confidence in the Eurozone declined more than expected in January, as shown by a preliminary reading from the European Commission. On Thursday, survey results showed that the flash consumer confidence index decreased to -15.5 this month from -13.9 in December. Consumer confidence in the European Union (EU) fell to …

The European Central Bank (ECB) decided to leave key rates and the size of its Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme (PEPP) at the end of its monetary policy meeting held this Thursday. Highlights Quotes“Pandemic poses serious risks; vaccination important milestone.”“New surge in infections, restrictions are disrupting.”“Services severely curbed.”“Economy likely contracted in Q4; …