Market Update

Crude oil inventories in the United States surged by 21.6 million barrels last week, according to the weekly report of the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) issued on Wednesday. The rise in oil supplies is much higher that what the market expected, as the S&P Global Platts survey expected an …

The President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, Patrick Harker, said on Wednesday that the United States economy loses trillions of Dollars every year due to racial and gender inequalities. Harker said that as the American economy recovers from the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic, it is essential to …

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has on Wednesday identified climate change, financial technology (FinTech), and conflicts of interest as the priorities of its Division of Examinations this year. The examinations division revealed in its annual priorities that climate-related risks, meaning environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks, as …

Mortgage rates in the United States saw their biggest increase in about a year last week, reaching their their highest level since July 2020, amid a surge in U.S. Treasury bond yields, Reuters reported. The contract rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage leveled up by 0.15% to 3.23% in the …

The United States services sector Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) declined by 3.4% to 55.3% in February, down from the January reading of 58.7%, data by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) showed on Wednesday. The reading signaled the ninth consecutive month of expansion in the economic activity of the sector. The …

The United States services sector’s business activity index rose in February, recording its fastest expansion since July 2014, according to data by IHS Markit The seasonally adjusted final US services purchasing managers index (PMI) increased to 59.8 in February, up from 58.3 in January. The final reading for last month …

Employment in the US’ private sector increased by 117,000 in February, the monthly data published by the Automatic Data Processing (ADP) Research Institue revealed on Wednesday. This reading fell short of the market expectation of 177,000. On a positive note, however, January’s reading got revised up to 195,000 from 174,000.

Sources in OPEC+ told Reuters that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, a group known as OPEC+, are considering extending oil production cuts from March to April instead of increasing production due to the fragility of crude markets due to continuing concerns about the Coronavirus …

British finance minister Rishi Sunak told ministers that they are borrowing on an extraordinary scale, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman told reporters on Wednesday, According to Reuters. “As a conservative government, we know that we cannot ignore this problem of borrowing,” Sunak added.

The European Union’s budget rules should remain suspended in 2022 but they could be reinstated in 2023, the European Commission said on Wednesday, as reported by Reuters. “Overall fiscal impulse, stemming from national budgets and the EU recovery fund, needs to remain supportive in 2021 and 2022,” the statement read. …