The US housing market continues to lose momentum with fewer Americans starting the process of buying a new home, according to the latest data from the the National Association of Realtors (NAR).Friday, the association said that its Pending Home Sales Index fell to a reading of 109.5 in January, down …
Read More »US Shares Rebound On Positive Durable Goods Data
US shares rose on the last day of the current trading week, despite having been in the red territory since Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized Donetsk and Luhansk separatist regions in Ukraine as independent states.Wall Street stocks were positively driven by economic data, which highlighted the rise of durable goods …
Read More »MPR Expects Fed will soon raise FFR target range
The US Federal Reserve on Friday released its semiannual Monetary Policy Report (MPR), which it normally does one week ahead of Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s semiannual testimony before the US Congress. The report reiterated the Fed’s policy guidance that it will soon be appropriate to raise the target range for …
Read More »US Dollar Index Turns Negative Below 97.00
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback vs. a bundle of its main competitors, comes under pressure and slips back below the 97.00 yardstick on Friday.The index gives away further ground following a tepid change in the markets’ mood after news reported a probable meeting between Russian and …
Read More »Lagarde: ECB ready to take action needed to ensure price and financial stability
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said on Friday that the central bank stands ready to take whatever action is needed to ensure price stability and financial stability in the Eurozone.Lagarde said that it would be premature to assess the exact impact of the conflict in Ukraine just yet, but …
Read More »Oil Catches Its Breath as Russian Forces Advance Into Ukraine
Oil prices fell on Friday after sharp increases during the session on fears of possible disruption to international supplies following the imposition of sanctions on oil-exporting Russia. Brent crude futures for April fell 33 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $98.75 a barrel at 1045 GMT, after jumping to $101.99. May …
Read More »Precious Metals Give up Gains After Biden Announces Sanctions on Russia
Precious metals gave up gains, gold fell below $1,900 an ounce and palladium fell more than 5% as stocks rebounded after US President Joe Biden unveiled tough new sanctions against Russia on Thursday. And the price of gold in spot transactions fell 0.6 percent to $ 1895.76 an ounce, after …
Read More »Market Drivers – US Session – 24 February
Fears and panic dominate financial markets as Russia launched a military assault on Ukraine. Moscow attacked not only the Donbass region but got near Kyiv during US trading hours. Russia ignores global sanctions and seems determined to take full control of Ukraine, while sanctions tend to avoid Russian energy. A …
Read More »Russia’s next bombardment on Kyiv expected at 01:00 GMT
Russian military forces are expected to begin a large-scale bombardment of the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv from around 01:00 o’clock (GMT), per a CNN correspondent citing an intelligence report. Markets have not reacted yet to this headline but it certainly will not be positive for global risk appetite if …
Read More »WTI Back Around $93.00 Area As Sanctions Avoid Russian Energy
Oil markets saw the most intra-day volatility since in nearly three months on Thursday, with front-month WTI futures surging over $8.0 to above $100 for the first time since 2014, only to then drop all the way back to $93.00. The initial surge in crude oil prices was triggered as …
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