Market Update

The United States Federal Reserve should not raise interest rates until inflation reaches the 2% target, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Charles Evans, said on Thursday, as cited by Reuters. “I am hard pressed to think of reasons why we would need to move away from accommodative …

Oil prices declined on Thursday due to negative economic data, which also pushed stock markets down. The OPEC+ move to raise output, by limiting the production cuts to 7.7 million barrels per day (bpd) from August 1, which was announced yesterday, is not expected to disrupt the market, as demand …

Russia is expecting a strong recovery in the global demand for oil, according to the Russian Minister of Energy, Alexander Novak, Reuters reported. The minister said on Thursday that a significant rise in August could see demand improve to 10% below the pre-COVID-19 levels. Demand was nearing 100 million barrels …

Gold prices declined on Thursday to their lowest closing level in about a week, as the US Dollar (USD) strengthened despite the number of US jobless claims for last week exceeding market expectations. However, the yellow metal was able to maintain the $1,800 level. Gold futures for August dropped by …

The President of the United States, Donald Trump, will remain on Twitter, White House spokeswoman, Kayleigh McEnany told reporters on Thursday. This comes after Bitcoin scammers hacked earlier today a number of major accounts on the social media platform, including the accounts of Bill Gates, Barack Obama, and Elon Musk, …

Employment in Canada increased by about 1.043 million jobs in June, compared to May, according to the June ADP Canada National Employment Report. Although jobs in manufacturing decreased by 57,000, jobs in construction increased by 171,000. Meanwhile, the largest increase was in the trade, transportation, and utilities with 347,200 new …

European stocks closed lower on Thursday after the European Central Bank (ECB) decided to maintain its main interest rates unchanged. The ECB also plans to maintain its Pandemic Emergency Purchase Program (PEPP), as the President of ECB, Christine Lagarde told reporters earlier today. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index declined by …

The European Central Bank (ECB) is expecting the European Union (EU) to prefer grants over loans as a funding mechanism for its anticipated economic stimulus fund against the impacts of COVID-19, said ECB President Christine Lagarde, Reuters reported. “Our assumption is that the recovery fund will come about and will …

A total of 1.3 million people have filed for unemployment benefits in the United States last week, according to data by the US Department of Labor on Thursday. The number beats market expectations of 1.25 million applications. However, the number showed a slight decline compared to the previous week, which …

Retail sales in the United Stated increased by 7.5% in June, beating market expectations, according to data by the US Department of Commerce on Thursday. The growth in retail sales is attributed to many businesses reopening, as restrictions against the coronavirus (COVID-19) were eased across many states. In May, retail …