Market Update

Data released in Canada on Friday has showed that retail sales rose 2.2% in May surpassing expectations of a 1.6% gain. Analysts at the National Bank of Canada point out sales were pushed up at gasoline stations and motor vehicle/parts dealers. They consider a strong labor market will compensate higher …

The European Central Bank’s policy normalization must continue, European Central Bank Governing Council member and German central bank head Joachim Nagel said on Friday.“I am confident that the ECB’s Transmission Protection Instrument (TPI) would withstand legal challenges,” Nagel added and noted that they still expect favourable growth in Germany and …

The GBP/USD pair has snapped three successive weeks of losses and reclaims a fresh gain around 1.34%. The US S&P Global PMIs reading has flashed and renewed worries about current US economic conditions.The US 2s-10s yield curve remains inverted for 14 consecutive days. The pair recaptures the 1.2000 figure amidst …

The USD/JPY pair is suffering the worst weekly performance since 2020. The pair accelerated the decline following the release of US economic data and bottomed at 135.56, reaching the lowest level in two weeks. The pair hovers around 136.00, down 250 pips for the week. The Japanese yen is up …

Business activity in the US service sector retreated in early July with S&P Global Services PMI dropping to 47 versus 52.7 in June. This reading came in much weaker than the market expectation standing at 52.6.The US dollar came under strong selling pressure after this report and the US Dollar …

Gold prices rose on Friday, supported by lower US Treasury yields, although the prospects of a Federal Reserve interest rate hike and a stronger dollar limited gains. By 1215 GMT, spot gold rose 0.5% to $1,727.09 an ounce. Prices fell to a more than one-year low of $1,680.25 on Thursday …

Oil prices fell on Friday as the outlook for global demand weakened, as well as the resumption of some Libyan crude oil production. By 1023 GMT, Brent crude futures fell $1.02 to $102.84 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell $1.08 to $95.27 a barrel. Friday’s data revealed that …

The Russian ruble fell above 58 against the dollar on Friday, falling to its weakest point during the morning after the central bank cut interest rates for the fourth time this year by 150 basis points to 8 percent, exceeding expectations. By 1047 GMT, the ruble fell 1.9 percent to …

Japan’s headline inflation gauge rose over the past month, exceeding the 2% target level set by the Bank of Japan. The CPI growth rate, excluding fresh food, accelerated to 2.2% in June annually. This came as energy cost inflation was exacerbated by the weak yen and higher processed food prices. …

The Japanese Nikkei index rose to its highest level in more than 6 weeks at the close on Friday, July 22, supported by gains in growth-related stocks that followed the path of gains on Wall Street in the evening, and the shares of shipping companies, which rose after recording strong …