Market Update

Retail Sales in the US rose by 9.8% in March to $619.1 billion, the data published by the US Census Bureau revealed on Thursday. This reading followed February’s contraction of 2.7% and surpassed the market expectation of 5.9%.

The Turkish lira declined against the US dollar after an earlier rise, following the central bank’s decision to keep the interest rate unchanged at 19%. The currency fell to 8.1250 after the decision, which was preceded by its initial rise to 8.005 against the US currency. It had closed at …

Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda warned Thursday that the Japanese economy is recovering but that the recovery is likely to be modest due to the coronavirus measures. The bank gave a negative assessment of two of the nine regions in Japan and maintained its outlook on the remaining areas, …

The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) announced on Thursday that it left its policy (one-week repo) rate unchanged at 19% as expected. In its policy statement, the central bank refrained from repeating last month’s pledge to “decisively” maintain a tight policy.

Prominent economic institutes said that the German economy may shrink 1.8% on a quarterly basis in the first three months of this year due to the restrictions of Covid-19, a revision of their joint forecast of growth in Europe’s largest economy. Institutes now expect GDP growth of 3.7% this year, …

Saudi Aramco will reduce its shipments of medium and heavy crude for August to at least six Asian buyers, sources familiar with the matter said. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the largest oil producer and exporter in OPEC, to cut production and exports in compliance with the OPEC agreement, reducing …

Gold prices rose Thursday, April 15th, supported by the weak dollar and declining US bond yields, while investors awaited the weekly US jobless claims report and March retail sales data for more clarity on the recovery of the world’s largest economy. Spot gold rose 0.5% to $1744.60 an ounce. US …

European stocks hit a record high Thursday (April 15th) as rising commodity prices lifted mining companies’ shares, while some positive earnings reports dispelled concerns about the pace of immunization from COVID-19 on the continent. The European Stoxx600 index rose 0.3%, gaining for the third session, while mining and travel stocks …

Oil prices stabilized Thursday, April 15th, to hold near the highest level in a month after jumping about 5% in the previous session after the International Energy Agency and OPEC raised oil demand forecasts as major economies recovered from the pandemic. Brent crude rose 4 cents to 66.62 dollars a …

Japanese stocks closed slightly higher Thursday, April 15th, led by cycle-related companies that will benefit from the global economic recovery and banks that have tracked their US counterparts, while a decline in technology shares curbed gains. The Nikkei index rose 0.07% to 29,642.69 points, after briefly retreating after a major …