Economic News:
On Monday, most Asian currencies slowly declined, but the dollar held steady as concerns about future hawkish actions by the Federal Reserve increased in response to signs of resilience in the American economy.
Holidays in Japan and South Korea reduced trading volumes in the area. But after a week-long hiatus, trading on Chinese markets was restarted.
The U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the value of the dollar relative to a basket of six other currencies, increased 0.09 % to 112.88.
The USD/JPY pair jumped to 145.35, up 0.01 %.
The NZD/USD pair fell by 0.31 % to 0.5594 and the AUD/USD pair fell by 0.79 % to 0.6318.
While the GBP/USD pair increased by 0.09 % to 1.1092, the USD/CNY pair grew by 0.13 % to 7.1250.
The U.S. labor market continued to be strong, according to data released on Friday, allowing the Federal Reserve room to keep raising interest rates dramatically. The likelihood that the Fed will increase interest rates by 75 basis points in November is over 80%, according to the markets.
This week’s US CPI inflation data is also anticipated to have an impact on the Fed’s decision to increase interest rates.
Commodities News:
As investors grabbed profits following a report on slowing economic growth in China, the world’s largest crude importer, concerns about declining global fuel demand were rekindled, oil prices dipped on Monday, ending five days of gains.
As of recent trading, Brent crude futures for December settlement were down 39 cents, or 0.4%, to $97.53 a barrel, having fallen as high as 1.1%.
The price of West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery dropped as high as 1.1% and recently traded at $92.27 per barrel, down 37 cents or 0.4%.
According to data released on Saturday, services activity in China shrank in September for the first time in four months as COVID-19 curbs hurt demand and company confidence.
Concerns about a potential worldwide recession being brought on by multiple central banks hiking interest rates to combat rising inflation rates are mounting, and this slowdown in China’s economy, the second-largest oil user in the world after the United States, only heightens those worries.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, including Russia, known as OPEC+, decided last week to lower their output target by 2 million barrels per day. Innes was making reference to the possibility of additional releases from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve next month in response.
After the cut was announced, Brent and WTI had their largest weekly percentage gains since March.
The OPEC+ restrictions will reduce supply in a market that is already constrained and come before a European Union oil embargo. European Union sanctions against Russian oil will go into effect in December and in February, respectively.
