Market Update

Homebuilder confidence in the United States increased to a record high in September, data showed on Wednesday. The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) went up by five points to a record high of 83 in September. This comes amid historically low mortgage rates due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Business inventories in the United States rose in July, for the first time in 2020, data showed on Wednesday. Business inventories increased by 0.1% in July, after decreasing by 1.1% in June, according to the US Department of Commerce. Retail inventories grew by 1.2%, while wholesale inventories fell by 0.3%.

The Turkish lira weakened to a record low against the dollar on Wednesday as concerns about the economic outlook continue, while investors await the decision of the Fed. The Turkish currency touched record low 7.5020 and beyond this week, as Moody’s downgrade of Turkey’s credit rating to “B2” from “B1”. …

Inflation in Canada, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), stayed unchanged at 0.1% on a yearly basis in August, the data published by Statistics Canada revealed on Wednesday. This reading came in lower than the market expectation of 0.4%. On a monthly basis, the CPI dropped to -0.1% …

Retail Sales in the United States rose by 0.6% on a monthly basis in August to $537.5, the data published by the US Census Bureau revealed on Wednesday. This reading followed July’s increase of 0.9% (revised from 1.2%) and missed the market expectation of 1%.

USD/JPY fell to a 7-week low during the European session with the bears now waiting for some selling below the psychological level of 105.00. The pair had witnessed some heavy selling for the third consecutive session on Wednesday, amid the selling bias around the US dollar. Although the Federal Reserve …

The OPEC and its allies (OPEC+) saw its compliance with oil output cuts policy reach 101% last month, Reuters reports, citing two sources with knowledge of the matter. The sources told Reuters that the compliance figure may be adjusted at the meeting of the committee. The OPEC+ is scheduled to …

Data showed that the Eurozone’s unadjusted trade surplus jumped year on year in July, as imports fell further with exports amid an economic slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The European Union statistics office Eurostat said that the trade surplus of the 19-country Eurozone countries with the rest of the …

Gold prices rose on Wednesday, September 16th, thanks to the dollar’s decline, as investors awaited the outcome of a meeting of the Federal Reserve (US Central Bank) in search of details of the bank’s plans to balance interest rates against its inflation target. Gold rose in the spot market 0.2% …

The Japanese yen rose on Wednesday, September 16th, as dealers bet that the Fed’s ultra-easy policy would put pressure on the dollar and elect a new prime minister for the country, while the Chinese yuan extended its gains a day after data indicated better prospects for the world’s second largest …