Market News

Thanksgiving weekend in the United States is a time for Turkey and shopping, and this year, it seems, investors went shopping as well, scooping up bitcoin in record numbers and fueling a surge in the cryptocurrency that extended through the holiday weekend and into Monday.

This week will see a lighter news agenda, with the key items coming as Central Bank guidance and key economic data releases for the U.S. Dollar. There will also be important Canadian and New Zealand data.

Oil prices hit two-year highs on Wednesday but retreated on Thursday morning, despite the fact that U.S. crude inventories dropped 1.9 million barrels last week, to 457.14 million barrels.

The British Pound was gaining traction during trade on Wednesday as traders appear uncertain of the currency’s direction ahead of the looming budget statement from Philip Hammond, the country’s finance minister.

Asian shares headed higher on Wednesday, after U.S. indexes closed higher on Tuesday, fueled by strong corporate profits and expectations of an oil production cut that is expected to buoy oil prices.

The common currency Euro steadied finally after recording its largest decline in about a month yesterday.

Oil prices were fairly stable on Tuesday despite predictions that U.S. output would climb more quickly than expected, causing perhaps as much as an 18 percent increase in active rigs in 2018.

The Pound Sterling edged higher against the US Dollar after the weekend’s news on the Brexit negotiations helped lift Cable in Monday trade.

The euro was lower against most of its principle trading partners on Monday after German coalition talks stalled, weakening the position of German Chancellor Angela Merkel further.

This week will see a heavier yet still relatively light news agenda, with the key items coming as Central Bank input for the U.S. and Australian Dollars and the British Pound, as well as the Euro to a lesser extent.

he US Dollar Index, viewed as a solid gauge of the relative weight of the greenback, had edged away from Wednesday’s 4-week low of 93.402 .DXY but continues to remain close at 93.556 .DXY.

The Pound Sterling experienced only a small improvement after today’s release of unexpectedly upbeat retail sales figures.

Wall Street remained under pressure on Wednesday as investors continued to worry about the U.S. tax reforms after two Republicans spoke out against their party’s latest Senate proposal

The Aussie Dollar was among the currency world’s biggest movers, losing some 0.6% against the US Dollar and touching on a 4-month trough.

The pound fell to near four-week lows on Tuesday following weaker-than-expected inflation data out of the United Kingdom which raised questions as to whether interest rates would be hiked in the near term.