Market News

Oil prices were higher on Wednesday after trading lower on Tuesday following reports from the American Petroleum Institute (API) that showed U.S. crude inventories dropped by 4.2 million barrels last week.

Sentiment for the Pound Sterling continues to improve on the latest Brexit-related noise with hopes for a no-deal Brexit likely to be ruled out formally.

Oil prices continued to slide on Tuesday after crashing more than 3 percent on Monday afternoon, after U.S. President Donald Trump demanded that OPEC curb its production cuts to keep prices lower.

The Pound Sterling made headway against the US Dollar during London trade on Monday as traders consider the prospect that the British government may have to delay the Brexit if no deal is forthcoming.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that he would delay his planned tariff increase on Chinese goods in light of the advances in the trade negotiations that have taken place in recent weeks.

This week is likely to see relatively low market activity, with central bank input due from the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of England, as well a few items of crucial economic data for these currencies plus the Canadian Dollar.

Investor optimism about a trade deal between the United States and China has been propelling markets forward all week, but weak data out of the U.S. on Thursday tempered the excitement by showing a slowdown in the country’s economy.

The Pound Sterling is moving off earlier higher movements against the US Dollar which occurred after Philip Hammond, the UK Finance Minister, spoke of constructive discussions with European Union officials.

The U.S. dollar was stronger on Thursday and Asian stock markets were broadly higher after a release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s January meeting yesterday

The Pound Sterling edged off the recently struck 1-week peak while the Prime Minister holds out all hope that her amendment proposals to the European Commission will have been approved.

The dollar index was modestly higher on Wednesday afternoon in Asia, propelled by the greenback’s gains against the yen, even as the currency struggled against most of its other trading partners.

The latest labor data from the UK helped to push the Pound Sterling above the $1.29 level during London trade on Tuesday.

Optimism about a trade deal between the U.S. and China remained high on Tuesday, though Asian markets failed to reflect the sentiment, trading mostly lower in the early afternoon in Asia.

Oil prices started the week by trading at their highest prices since November 2018, boosted by supply concerns due to sanctions from the U.S. against Iran and Venezuela, as well as OPEC’s production cuts which began in January.

This week is likely to see an increase in market activity, with central bank input due from the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Reserve Bank of Australia, as well a few items of crucial economic data for various currencies.