The British pound has stabilized near 7-week highs. Financial market participants took a break amid the development of the situation regarding Brexit. Yesterday, vote on a Brexit delay was held in the UK Parliament. Parliamentarians voted for the decision to send a request to postpone the country’s exit from the European Union. 412 officials voted for the delay, 202 voted against. British Prime Minister Theresa May will seek approval of the Brexit deal next week again.
However, 27 EU members should unanimously support this decision in order to delay Brexit. According to preliminary data, the summit of the leaders of the block will be held next Thursday. In case of a short delay, the Brexit date could be rescheduled for June 30th.
Yesterday, the US dollar strengthened against a basket of major currencies despite weak economic data. Thus, new home sales fell to 607K in January, while experts expected 622K. Over the past week, the number of initial jobless claims increased to a maximum of 4 weeks (229K). At the same time, growth in export and import indices exceeded market expectations. The dollar index (#DX) closed the trading session in the positive zone (+0.27%).
The Bank of Japan, as expected, kept the key marks of monetary policy at the same level.
The “black gold” prices have continued to rise. At the moment, futures for the WTI crude oil have approached $58.85 per barrel.
Market Indicators
- Yesterday, there was a variety of trends in the US stock market: #SPY (-0.06%), #DIA (+0.07%), #QQQ (-0.17%).
- The 10-year US government bonds yield fell slightly. Currently, the indicator is at the level of 2.61-2.62%.
The news feed on 15.03.2019:
- Consumer price index in the Eurozone at 12:00 (GMT+2:00);
- Industrial production in the US at 15:15 (GMT+2:00);
- JOLTS job openings in the US at 16:00 (GMT+2:00).
