Daily Recap: Wednesday, August 19, 2020

The release of the Federal Reserve July meeting minutes dominated the market today, helping the USD go higher and, accordingly, gold closing lower. Meanwhile, expectations by the monetary policymakers that the COVID-19 health crisis will weigh on the economy led to Wall Street closing in red, while oil prices showed a mixed performance following a draw in US inventories. Here is the day’s news recap.

Forex:

• Dollar Rises Ahead of FOMC Meeting Minutes
• PBOC Sets Yuan Reference Rate at 6.9168

Stocks:

• Wall Street Closes in Red Following Fed Minutes
• Banks Lead Gains in European Stock Markets
• Japan’s Nikkei Rises after Gains in US Tech
• European Stocks Weaken after Wall Street Rally

Commodities:

• Oil Continues to Struggle for Direction
• Gold Settles Lower as USD Strengthens
• US Crude Inventories Falls by 1.6 M Barrels in Week
• OPEC+ Meeting Scheduled for Today
• Oil Declines on Demand Concerns
• Gold Down Below $2,000
• Crude Oil Futures Higher During Asian Session
• Gold Futures Decline During Asian Session

Economic Data:

• Fed: COVID Will Weigh Heavily on Economic Activity
• Canada’s Wholesale Sales Expand in June
• Canada’s CPI Rises 0.1% in July
• Eurozone Current Account Surplus Jumps in June
• Japan’s Exports Fall in July For Fifth Month
• UK Annual CPI Beats Estimates

Remarks:

• Bullard: Wall Street is Right with Record-Breaking Rises
• Barkin: Uncertainty Negatively Affecting US Economy
• British Health Minister: Most Corona Cases Occurred in Homes

News:

• London to Remain Europe’s Financial Center Despite Brexit
• Trump Postpones Trade Talks with China