Market News

In a meeting on Wednesday, the FED raised its benchmark overnight interest rate by half a percentage point…

Brent crude rose to near $130 a barrel on Monday, the highest level since 2008, as the US and its European allies consider a Russian oil import embargo, while delays in the probable return of Iranian crude to global markets fuelled supply concerns.

Inflation in the euro zone in March was slightly lower than previously reported but remains at record highs due to rising energy costs, according to EU statistics.

Consumer prices in the US increased by the most in 16 ½ years in March amid Russia’s war against Ukraine that boosted the cost of gasoline to record high. The consumer price index edged higher by 1.2% last month, the biggest monthly gain since September, 2005, said the Labour Department on Tuesday.

German industrial orders dropped more than expected in February amid weaker demand from abroad according to data on Wednesday.

France and Germany’s consumer confidence dropped more than expected this month amid inflationary pressures and the war between Russia and Ukraine, showed a survey on Tuesday.

Inflation in the UK climbed faster than expected last month hitting a new 30-year high. The Office for National Statistics said that consumer prices rose by 6.2% in February after a 5.5% increase in January, its highest rate since March 1992.

On Wednesday the FED raised interest rates for the first time since 2018. It also laid down an aggressive plan to push the borrowing costs to restrictive levels next year to cover the economic risks….

On Thursday the European central bank announced its plan to end asset purchases in the third quarter, accelerating its exit from the extraordinary stimulus amid soaring inflation.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said on Wednesday that the Federal Reserve will move forward with plans to raise interest rates this month to try to tame high inflation, however, the war in Ukraine has made the outlook “highly uncertain” for US central bank policymakers.

Western fears of a major war in Europe after which on Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin recognised the separatist enclaves in the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine that adjoin Russia.

Eurozone economic growth slowed sharply quarter-on-quarter as expected in the last three months of 2021, confirmed data on Tuesday. Activity was hit by another wave of COVID-19 infections and surging prices impacted disposable incomes.