Market Update

The number of active oil rigs in the United States increased by six to a total of 211 during the week, according to the weekly rig count report by Baker Hughes. This is the fifth consecutive rise in active drilling rigs in the US. Meanwhile, the total number of oil …

The Speaker of the United House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, said on Friday that there remains a possibility to agree on a new COVID-19 stimulus package before the November 3 election, Reuters reported. “We could do that before the election if the president wants to,” she told reporters, noting that …

The seasonally adjusted IHS Markit Flash United States Composite Output Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) posted 55.5 at the start of the final quarter of 2020, up from 54.3 in September, This is signaling the fastest increase in private sector business activity since February 2019. Service sector firms recorded a marked …

European stocks rose on Friday, supported by positive earnings reports from Barclays and carmakers, while continued concern about the economic impact of a spike in COVID-19 cases puts markets on a path of weekly losses. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.2%, while Asian markets recorded narrow trading ranges as …

On Friday, Russia’s central bank kept the key interest rate at 4.25%, in line with expectations after the ruble weakened before the US presidential election, but said a rate cut was still possible in the coming months. “If the situation develops in line with the basic expectation, the Bank of …

Business activity fell back into decline across the Eurozone in October as accelerating growth of manufacturing output was overwhelmed by a steepening deterioration in the service sector amid rising COVID-19 worries. In fact, the Eurozone manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) jumped to a 26-month high level of 54.4 during the …

Oil prices declined on Friday but held onto most of the gains they made in the previous session after Russian President Vladimir Putin indicated that he was ready to extend record cuts to supplies at a time when Covid-19 cases rose in the United States and Europe. Brent crude fell …

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said that the country’s gross domestic product will likely shrink in the last three months of the year, adding that the curfews imposed to contain the Coronavirus will cost about two billion euros ($ 2.36 billion). “We will likely have a negative growth figure …

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak told the Russian State Duma, the lower house of parliament, today, Friday, that Russian oil exports are expected to decrease in 2020 by 16.4% compared to last year, to 225 million tons. He added that Russia’s oil production this year is expected to reach 507 …

The UK manufacturing and services sector activities showed mixed performance in October, the preliminary report from IHS Markit showed this Friday. The seasonally adjusted IHS Markit/CIPS UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) dropped to a three-month low of 53.3 in October versus 53.1 expected and 54.1 – September’s final reading. …