On the back of the stronger Greenback, crude oil prices lost some ground on Monday. West Texas Intermediate declined 0.14%, trading at $49.26 per barrel, and Brent dropped 0.30%, trading at $49.80 per barrel by 12:40 GMT on Monday, whereas the US Dollar Index rose 0.39%.
On Friday, the US Dollar erased its earlier losses against the Japanese Yen and approached the 110.00 yen-level, during the North American trading session by 15:00 GMT on the New York Stock exchange ahead of the Fed Chair Janet Yellen's speech later in the day, which may lead to higher volatility.
According to the latest news released on Friday, the final University of Michigan's Consumer Sentiment Index for the United States improved to 94.7 in May after the final 89.0 seen in the previous month. Analysts expected the Consumer Sentiment Index to hit 95.4 in May, following the 95.8 preliminary reading.
West Texas Intermediate traded 0.11% lower at $48.93 per barrel by 14:15 GMT on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday, while Brent traded down 1.49% at $48.85 per barrel. Meanwhile, the bullion dropped 0.35%, trading at $1,218.40 per troy ounce, and silver declined 0.42%, trading at $16.275 per ounce.
Major US stock markets opened Friday's trading session slightly higher, following the revised up Q1 GDP. However, the main focus of attention in markets today is likely to be a speech later from Janet Yellen. At the session start, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 0.11%, opening at 2,092.30 and 17,847.20 points respectively, whereas the
According to the US Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Q1 GDP growth rate was revised up to 0.8%, following the 0.5% reading reported earlier, whereas the PCE Annualized Index remained at 1.9% and the GDP Price Index dropped to 0.7%. All economic indicators missed expectations. After the release the US Dollar traded around $1.1175 against the Euro on the LSE.
Major European stock markets finished mostly higher on Thursday, following the UK GDP figures and a rise in oil prices. Germany's DAX 30 Index gained 0.70%, finishing at 10,276.66, whereas Britain's FTSE 100 Index added 0.07%, closing at 6,267.35 points. Meanwhile, France CAC 40 Index grew 0.71% to 4,513.26, and the pan-European Euro Stoxx 50 Index jumped 0.32% to end at 3,071.41 points.
On Thursday, West Texas Intermediate crude oil traded 0.44% higher at $49.78 per barrel by 14:40 GMT on the New York Stock Exchange, whereas Brent traded 0.32% up at $49.90. In the meantime, the bullion rose 0.25%, trading at $1,226.80 per troy ounce, and silver grew 1.13% to $16.445 per ounce.
The Australian Dollar bounced from its three-month low at $0.7142 seen earlier this week, following a rebound in oil and commodity prices. Thus, the Aussie appreciated 0.36% against its US counterpart, trading at $0.7225 by 15:15 GMT on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, whereas the US Dollar Index dropped 0.32% to 95.09 points.
Official data from the National Association of Realtors published on Thursday showed that the Pending Home Sales Index rose 5.1% to 116.3 in April after rising by an upwardly revised 1.6% in March. Meanwhile, analysts expected indicator increase of only 0.7% in the fourth month of the year. The Pending Home Sales Index increased year-over-year for the 20 consecutive month.
US equity markets opened slightly advanced on Thursday, following the better-than-expected data on durable goods orders and initial jobless claims. At the open of the North American trading session, Standard & Poor's 500 Index grew 0.06% to 2,091.70 points. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average Index added 0.09%, opening at 17,868.25, and the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.08%, starting at 4,898.80 points.
Durable goods orders made in the United States rose 3.4% in April, whereas analysts polled by MarketWatch expected to see the 0.9% increase on a seasonally adjusted basis. New trucks, cars and commercial jets contributed most to the following growth. In the meantime, the previous month's durable goods orders were revised up from 1.3% to 1.9%.
On Thursday, fresh figures from the Department of Labor showed that the number of people applying for unemployment benefits for the first time during the week ended May 21 dropped to 268,000, following the 278,00 reading seen in the previous seven days and the 275,000 market forecast. It was the 64 consecutive week since initial jobless claims remained below the 300,000 level.
Gold erased all its early gains on Wednesday and dropped below the $1230 mark. The bullion lost 0.55%, trading at $1,222.50 per troy ounce by 14:15 GMT on the New York Stock Exchange and , whereas silver added 0.38%, trading at $16.315 per ounce at the same time.
Europe's major stock indices closed Wednesday's trading session strongly in the green. Germany's DAX 30 Index added 1.50%, finishing at 10,208.31, Britain's FTSE 100 Index gained 0.73%, closing at 6,264.88 points. Meanwhile, France's CAC 40 Index rose 1.13% to 4,481.49, whereas the pan-European Stoxx 50 Index grew 1.72%, finishing at 3,061.91 points.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures traded 0.86% higher at $49.04, whereas Brent futures jumped 1.30%, trading at $49.24 by 15:20 GMT on the New York Stock Exchange. On Wednesday, it was the first time since November 2015 that oil prices touched the $50 level.
In its weekly report released on Wednesday, the EIA reported that US crude oil inventories dropped by 4.2 million barrels during the week ended May 20, following the 1.3 million-barrel increase seen in the previous seven days and surpassing the 1.7 million-barrel fall expected by analysts.
Official data from the US Department of Commerce showed on Wednesday that the country's trade deficit grew to $57.5 billion in April, compared to the $60 market forecast and following the $57.1 billion gap seen in the third month of the year. Exports of goods rose 2.4% to to $119.3 billion, whereas imports increased 1.9% to $176.8 billion in April.
On Wednesday, financial agency Markit announced May's US preliminary Purchasing Managers' Index reading for the service sector. The Index dropped to 51.2 points, following the 52.8 result seen in the previous month, when it hit a three-month high, and missing the 53.0 market forecast.
The bullion dropped to its four week-low on Tuesday, following a fresh stream of hawkish comments from US Federal Reserve officials, which helped the US Dollar to trade higher. Thus, gold prices declined 1.81% to $1,228.90 per troy ounce by 17:00 GMT on the New York Stock Exchange.
The US Dollar traded higher against other major currencies by 16:30 GMT on the New York Stock Exchange. It appreciated 0.63% against the Japanese Yen, trading at 110.03 yens. Meanwhile, the Aussie dropped 0.54% and the Euro declined 0.63% against the Greenback, trading at $0.7185 and $1.1143 respectively.
Europe's major stock markets finished higher on Tuesday, helped by a strong rally in the banking sector, whereas the German GDP data met analysts' expectations. Germany's DAX 30 Index added 2.33%, closing at 10,071.94 and touching its one-week high of 10,077.50. Meanwhile, Britain's FTSE 100 Index rose 1.51%, finishing at 6,229.00, France's CAC 40 Index grew 2.54% to 4,435.09, and the pan-European Euro Stoxx
New US home sales grew 16.6% to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 619,000 units in April, posting the highest result since January 2008 and the largest percent increase since January 1992. Meanwhile, the previous month's reading was revised up to 531,000 from the originally reported 511,000 units. Analysts polled by Reuters expected new home sales to rise to 523,000 in April.
The largest US equity markets posted gains shortly after the opening bell on Tuesday, ahead of the new US home sales report. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index grew 0.55%, starting at 2,059.30, whereas the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.63% and the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.59%, opening at 17,602.50 and 4,794.00 points respectively.