Market Update

The data from the UK showed on Friday that the CBI’s Manufacturing Order Book Balance improved sharply to its highest level since April 2019 at -5 in March from -24 in February. This reading beat the market expectation of -20 by a wide margin. Further details of the publication revealed …

Barclays raised its forecast for oil prices this year at $4 a barrel, indicating that major producers are cautious about oversupply as demand recovers gradually from the recession caused by the pandemic. The bank now expects a price for Brent crude at $66 a barrel and for US West Texas …

Oil prices fell 1% on Tuesday (March 23rd), as they were hit by fears that new restrictions imposed to combat the Coronavirus pandemic and the slow distribution of vaccines in Europe will slow down the recovery in demand, while producers cut production in a sign of abundant supplies. US West …

Official figures showed, Tuesday, March 23, that the unemployment rate in Britain fell unexpectedly to 5% in the three months ending in January, when the country entered again into general isolation measures to confront the outbreak of the Coronavirus, below expectations for a rise to 5.2% in a poll conducted …

Japan shares gave up early gains to close on Tuesday, March 23rd lower, following a weak performance in China markets as investors reaped profits from the recent rise of some companies on the mainland, while risk appetite was weakened by fluctuations in US bond yields. The Nikkei index fell 0.61% …

Monday, a document showed that Germany is expected to continue a huge deficit in spending in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, with a debt-funded supplementary budget of about 60 billion euros for the current year and a draft budget for 2022 with new net debt of 81.5 billion euros. The …

President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Thomas Barkin, said that the United States economy is close to completing the recovery despite the lingering of some risk factors. “Vaccines are rolling out, and case rates and hospitalizations are falling. Excess savings and fiscal stimulus should help fund pent-up demand …

Oil prices registered marginal gains on Monday, opening the week with a positive performance following last week’s sharp losses, which were the worst in about five months. Expectations for economic recovery provided support to crude prices, but concerns about demand recovery and reintroducing lockdown measures in Europe had a negative …

Gold prices declined on Monday, due to lower investors’ demand on the yellow metal. Despite the relative decline in the U.S. Treasury bond yields, which remain near their highest level in a year, a positive performance by stock markets reduced demand for safe havens. Gold futures for April delivery closed …

Cryptocurrencies are speculative assets and an unstable store of value, said the Chairman of the United States Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, on Monday, noting that the Fed is not in a hurry to introduce its own digital currency, CNBC reported. “They’re highly volatile and therefore not really useful stores of …