The GBP/USD pair dropped in early trading due to strong US dollar strength, driven by upbeat UK retail sales data. The recent UK inflation report repricing of the Bank of England’s interest rate expectations led to a 50% chance of a 50 bps rate hike projected by the swaps market. …
Read More »Oil surges ahead of the weekend on supply concerns
WTI soared on Friday, posting a fourth straight weekly increase as it reached the 200-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) at $76.82. With a 1.89% weekly gain, WTI crude oil also increased by more than 1% near $76.80.On Friday, oil prices increased by more than $1 a barrel, supported by mounting …
Read More »Fed launches FedNow payment service that could bypass PayPal
In an effort to modernize the nation’s payment infrastructure and make it possible for regular Americans to send and receive money in seconds, the US Fed has introduced a new payment service called FedNow. With the FedNow service, which has been in development since 2019, the US will catch up …
Read More »IMF Approved Yuan for Argentina’s Debt Repayment
Argentina has made a $2.7 billion payment on its debt to the International Monetary Fund in June, with $1 billion coming from its stockpile of Chinese yuan and the rest consisting of IMF special-drawing rights. This unprecedented step underscores the dire situation of the Argentine economy and the increasing relevance …
Read More »Higher rates pushed US banks’ earnings higher in Q2
Higher interest rates helped US banks’ Q2 profitability, which in turn helped key markets rise. The prospects for the industry is, however, cast in doubt by decreased consumer spending, sluggish loan growth, and rising deposit-retention expenses. The S&P 500 Banks Index increased by 9.3%, while the KBW Regional Banking Index …
Read More »USD/JPY soars on BoJ’s dovish stance
The USD/JPY pair has surged due to the Bank of Japan’s dovish stance, breaking away from the 140.00 range during the Asian session. The uptrend could continue based on interest rate differentials, but next week’s Fed and BoJ decisions are expected to impact the market.The pair’s rally was driven by …
Read More »Putin launches a giant liquefied gas project in the Arctic
Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the first line of the Arctic LNG2 project in Murmansk, the first phase of a giant Arctic liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in which the French group Total Energy was a party before its withdrawal in 2022. The value of the project is estimated at …
Read More »Gold is heading for gains for the third week in a row
Gold prices continued to gain for the third week in a row, Friday, July 21, supported by hopes that the US Federal Reserve will stop raising interest rates after its meeting this month. And by 06:15 GMT, gold in instant transactions increased 0.1% to $ 1970.69 an ounce, up 0.7% …
Read More »European stocks open to stability and the gains of energy companies erase the losses of the technology sector
European stocks fell at the open on Thursday, as investors assessed mixed business results announced by companies in the region, and disappointing financial results from two US giants, Netflix and Tesla, weighed on sentiment. The pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 0.2 percent by 0705 GMT. Frankfurt-listed shares of Netflix …
Read More »Japan’s Nikkei index is falling for a second day under pressure from chip stocks
The Japanese Nikkei index ended lower on Friday, affected by the acceleration of declines in stocks related to chips, which are tracking their counterparts in the United States. Semiconductor giants Tokyo Electron and Advantest fell 5.6 percent and 5.8 percent, respectively, wiping nearly 200 points from the Nikkei index. The …
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