Market Update

Crude oil prices declined on Thursday with the market seeing increased concerns regarding the recovery of global demand for oil, amid record surged in the number of COVID-19 cases in the United States. The US benchmark crude, West Texas Intermediate (WTI), futures closed down by 3.1% or $1.28 at $39.62 …

Gold prices settled lower on Thursday, as the US Dollar strengthened and was supported by strong economic data. Gold futures for August delivery decreased by about 1% or $16.80 and closed at $1,803.80 per ounce, maintaining the $1,800-level. On Wednesday, the precious metal futures closed at their highest level since …

The European Union (EU) is set to grant temporary access to the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and other derivatives clearing houses in the United Kingdom starting January 2021. The European Commission plans to adopt a time-limited equivalence decision for the UK for central clearing counterparties of derivatives, without clarifying the …

Standard & Poor’s (S&P Global) is expecting banks around the world to see loan losses of $1.3 trillion in 2020 and a total of $2.1 trillion until the end of 2021, Reuters reported. More than half of the loan losses will be in the Asia Pacific region, however, North America …

The Canadian Dollar (CAD) could not take advantage of positive economic data on Thursday and fell against major currencies, amid a decline in oil prices and as many investors are seemingly leaning towards safe havens. The CAD is down by 0.50% against the British Pound (GBP), with the GBP/CAD pair …

European stocks closed lower for the third straight day, amid rising concerns regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and the outlook for economic recovery. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index tumbled by 0.78% to settle at 363.61. FTSE100 dropped by 1.73% to 6,049.62 points, CAC40 fell by 1.21% to 4,921. German DAX index …

The United States supplies of natural gas increased by 56 billion cubic feet (bcf) last week, according to data by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Thursday. Total natural gas inventories currently stand at 3.133 tcf, up by 685 bcf from a year ago.

Wholesale inventories in the United States declined during the month of May by 1.2%, meeting market estimates. This comes after inventories increased by 0.2% in April, according to data by the US Department of Commerce. Wholesalers’ sales increased by 5.4% in May, after falling by 16.4% in April, Reuters reported. …

After a short-term recovery to daily highs in 96.55 / 60 range, dollar fell to 96.30 area on US Dollar Index The demand for the safe-haven remained light for the second consecutive session, after the good sentiment in the market and investors turning to risky assets. Investors focus now on …

Weekly jobless claims in the U.S. decreased by an estimated 99,000 last week as data released by U.S. Department of Labor Thursday shows. The number reached 1,314,000 initial claims for unemployment benefits in the week ending July 4th, better than market expectations at 1,375,000 and higher than the previous week …