The United States Federal Reserve has decided as expected to maintain interest rates near 0% during its two-day meeting that concluded on Wednesday. The Fed policy statement noted that policymakers are committed to maintaining asset purchases at at least $120 billion per month.
Read More »US Crude Inventories Down 3.1 M Barrels
Crude oil inventories in the United States decreased by 3.1 million barrels last week to stand at 500 million barrels, according to the weekly report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released on Wednesday. Meanwhile, gasoline stockpiles rose by 1 million barrels to 238.9 million barrels and distillate stockpiles …
Read More »US Business Inventories Rise in October
Business inventories in the United States grew during October by 0.7%, after rising by 0.8% in September, data by the US Department of Commerce showed on Wednesday. On an annual basis, inventories declined by 4% compared with their level in October 2019. Retail inventories increased by 0.9% in October, up …
Read More »Bitcoin Exceeds $20,000 for First Time Ever
Bitcoin exceeded the $20,000 price tag for the first time in history earlier today, marking a new milestone for the world’s largest cryptocurrency. Bitcoin is trading higher for the day by around 6.6% at $20,653.75. The biggest digital currency has seen gains of around 12.4% over the next seven days.
Read More »US Housing Market Index Declines in December
The United States National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Housing Market Index (HMI) declined by four points in December to a reading of 86, compared with 90 in November. However, this is the second-highest level on record for the index. It is worth noting that any reading above 50 indicates …
Read More »US Retail Sales Decline in November
Retail sales in the United States declined by more than expected during November, data by the US Department of Commerce showed on Wednesday. Last month, retail sales decreased by 1.1%, while the October reading was revised down to show a decline of 0.1% instead of an increase of 0.3% as …
Read More »European Stocks Close Higher Amid Optimism
European stocks closed higher on Wednesday, supported by an improved investors’ sentiment regarding the rollout of new Coronavirus vaccines. The pan-European STOXX 600 index finished higher by 0.8%, supported by gains by the majority of market sectors, except for the baking stocks, with the insurance index heading the gains. The …
Read More »Oil Prices Rose on Optimism About Covid-19 Vaccine And Weakness of Dollar
Oil prices rose today, Wednesday, due to the decline of the dollar and the progress in the distribution of Covid-19 vaccines, but the gains were limited due to a sudden increase in crude oil inventories in the United States and the tightening of measures to combat Coronavirus in Europe. Brent …
Read More »Eurozone Trade Surplus Widened as Exports Recovered More Than Imports
Data revealed that the Eurozone’s unadjusted trade surplus jumped year on year in October as exports performed better than imports amid the economic slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The European Union statistics office said the commodity trade surplus in 19 countries in the Eurozone amounted to 30.0 billion euros, …
Read More »Oil Prices Dropping Due to a Sudden Increase in US Inventories
Oil prices fell on Wednesday, December 16, due to a sudden increase in crude oil inventories in the United States and due to continuing investor concerns about the decline in fuel demand in light of tightening public isolation measures in Europe to combat the virus pandemic. Brent crude futures fell …
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