Recently, US President Donald Trump said on Twitter that he feels confident regarding the future of the United States economy, claiming that it is in the early stages of coming back "very strong" and making a reference to the stock market's performance.
"I feel more and more confident that our economy is in the early stages of coming back very strong. Not everyone agrees with me, but I have little doubt. Watch for September, October, November. Next year will be one of the best ever, and look at the Stock Market NOW!," tweeted Trump.
The US stock markets continued to rally on Wednesday. The S&P 500 closed in the positive territory, adding 1.36 percent during the session and closing at 3,122.87. Conversely, the Nasdaq100 0.49 percent, closing yesterday's session at 9,704.69.
Protests against police brutality continue in the United States. The protests were ignited by the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man that was killed by a police officer who’s knee pushed down on Floyd's neck for more than eight minutes. The death caused a wave of indignation in American society, particularly on the African-American community, as they claim that the police tend to harm the black community disproportionately.
The protests brought with them looting and vandalism, which has pushed the United States government to impose curfews. The US President also threatened with sending in the army to stop the protests, which ignited a wave of criticism against him.
As mentioned, despite the social unrest the American stock markets continued piling up gains on yesterday's session. Nevertheless, the US dollar index, which measures the performance of the Greenback against a bundle of its competitors, dropped 0.36 percent, falling for the fifth straight session.
Oil markets also closed on the positive territory. Brent oil futures added 0.56 percent on Wednesday's session, closing at 39.79, while West Texas Intermediate oil futures climbed 0.38 percent, closing at 36.95.
The markets recently learned about two facts. First, the Energy Information Administration reported yesterday that US crude inventories dropped by 2.1 million barrels. Second, It seems that the OPEC+ meeting is not taking place today, after all, since not all the members of the coalition, especially Irak and Nigeria, are sticking to their supply quotas.
"It’s unlikely that the OPEC plus meeting will happen tomorrow," reported the Deputy Bureau Chief at Energy Intelligence yesterday, making reference to the fact that Saudi Arabia and Russia are putting pressure on the members that are not complying with the production cuts.
This implies that the OPEC+ leaders are not confirming when the meetings are taking place until all the members of the coalition comply with the supply cuts.
"The decision on setting a date for the meeting and extending the current cuts is contingent on the additional commitment from member countries that haven't been fully complying," commented an OPEC source.
This piled up pressure over the oil markets. By 7:24 GMT WTI crude oil futures, fell 2.09 percent, falling to the 36.51 level, while Brent oil futures dropped 1.58 percent, at 39.16.