Market Briefing: Brent oil trades above $40 on hopes for OPEC+ output cuts
Vrasidas Neofytou
Head of Investment Research
Brent crude price managed to climb above the key level of $40 per barrel for the first time since early March, on expectations that the OPEC+ alliance will agree on Thursday to extend output cuts. In addition, the global financial markets trade at 3-months highs on prospects of global economic recovery in the second half of the year after the hopeful recovery from the pandemic.
Coronavirus Update:
Global cases: More than 6.37 million
Global deaths: At least 380,251
U.S. cases: More than 1.83 million
U.S. deaths: At least 106,181
Crude oil:
WTI and Brent crude oil prices continue their upward momentum, surging 1.5% on Wednesday at $37.60 and $40.20 per barrel. Both contracts hold onto their gains from Tuesday’s session, as they surged 4% after the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported a surprise draw of 500k barrels on the US stockpiles for the week ended May 29th .
The members of OPEC and other major producers including Russia, a group known as OPEC+, will have a virtual meeting on Thursday, to extend the current production cuts of 9.7 million barrels per day that ends on June 31st , most likely until September 1st .
Market Reaction:
US stock markets rose on Tuesday, extending their recent rally on growing optimism over economic recovery, despite the civil unrest in major cities across the country. Dow Jones index closed at 25.742, up 1.1%, the S&P 500 to 3.080, up by 0.8% and the Nasdaq Composite advanced by 0.6% to 9.608.
Asian markets finished higher on Wednesday’s trading session, following the overnight gains in Wall Street. Kospi index led the gains with 2.87% in response to additional stimulus plans from South Korea, while Nikkei and Hang Seng followed with 1.2% in gains.
Precious Metals:
Precious metals have lost their shine this week, on the improved risk sentiment, the ongoing rally in global stock markets and the de-escalation in trade tensions. The yellow metal trades near $1.725/oz, while Silver broke below the $18 level and Palladium trades near $2.000/oz.
Forex Market:
The Australian dollar hit a fresh 3-month high against the US dollar at 0.697 and the Japanese Yen at 75.500, after the Reserve Bank of Australia left interest rates unchanged on Tuesday.
The Australia and New Zealand dollar were the best performing currencies across the board, gaining support from the improved risk sentiment and the economic recovery in China.
The DXY- US dollar’s index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, fell at 97.30 as investors moved away from safe-haven currencies amid the risk appetite.
Economic Calendar for June 03, 2020 (GMT+ 3:00):
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