Majors Showed A Variety Of Trends. Oil Prices Rose

On Friday, December 29, majors showed a variety of trends. The euro and the British pound rose against the US dollar till the close of trading. The dollar fell against the yen. The dollar index (#DX) closed the trading session in the positive zone. Today, low trading activity and volatility are expected due to the New Year holidays.

During the Asian trading session, positive data on the index of business activity in the manufacturing sector of China from Caixin were published. Today, the publication of business activity indices in the manufacturing sector of Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States is expected.

On Friday, the oil prices rose due to a decline in oil production in the US. In 2017, oil prices rose by more than 10%. The main positive factor for the oil market in the outgoing year was OPEC’s decision to extend the agreement on limiting the production till the end of 2018. At the moment, futures for the WTI crude oil are testing $60.70 per barrel.

Market Indicators

On Friday, the major US stock indices closed in the negative zone: #SPY (-0.38%), #DIA (-0.30%), #QQQ (-0.62%).

The 10-year US government bonds yield began to recover after a significant decline last week. At the moment the indicator is at the level of 2.42%.

Today we recommend you to pay attention to the following statistics:

– The index of business activity in the manufacturing sector of Germany at 10:55 (GMT+2:00);
– The index of business activity in the manufacturing sector of the UK at 11:30 (GMT+2:00);
– The index of business activity in the manufacturing sector of the United States at 16:45 (GMT+2:00);
– The crude oil inventories in the US at 23:30 (GMT+2:00).