Oil prices went up amid the upcoming Iran sanctions

Daily Analysis - 29/08/2018

Dollar steady as investors await news on China-US trade war

The greenback went higher yesterday after falling to a month low during the late session. The U.S-Mexico trade deal was not the only issue in focus because of the concerns that the China-U.S. trade war will drag on for some time. The dollar index versus a basket of six major currencies was little changed at 94.720 as of 03:00 GMT after the low to 94.430 during the U.S. session.

U.S. Stocks Rise on Global Trade

Early today the Asia stock markets were trending higher. With no fresh economic news investors and speculators continue to watch closely the trade agreement between the United States and Mexico announced on Monday. Investors look positive to the fact that Canada probably will reach a similar deal after its Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland went to Washington on Tuesday in a hope to resume negotiations about the future of NAFTA. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index is trading 22878.90, up 65.50 that is about 0.29%. Most of the U.S. stock indexes went up yesterday and that was supported by the positive sentiment investors have over global trade after Monday’s announcement of a trade deal between the U.S. and Mexico. The S&P 500 Index broke above 2900 for a short time for the first time ever. The NASDAQ also reached a record high and the Dow Jones Industrial Average went higher while moving closer to its all-time high.

Oil dips on rising U.S. supply but Iran sanctions helped to stop the fall

Today Oil prices went down due to a reported rise in U.S. crude inventories. The falling exports from Iran due to U.S. sanctions stopped the market from going further down. The International Brent crude oil futures were about $75.91 per barrel, about 5 cents down from their last close. In the US the crude inventories went slightly up by 38,000 barrels, to about 405.7 million barrels in the week to Aug. 24. Industry group the American Petroleum Institute said on Tuesday. Sukrit Vijayakar, Director of oil consultancy Trifecta said: "The API reported surprisingly flat numbers to a market expecting a reasonable draw in crude and a build in products.” Investors said crude prices have been positively supported by the possibility of the U.S. sanctions against Iran.

European markets seen slightly higher

Europe opens slightly higher this morning with investors following closely global trade developments. The FTSE 100 is about 13 points higher at around 7,6340. The CAC is probably going to open with little changes from the previous session at 5,500, and the DAX is going to start up probably at 12,556. The main focus lately is on the trade talks between the U.S., Mexico, and Canada, following a recent effort to revamp the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The U.S. and Mexico agreed on key trade terms on early this week. That probably will stop creating tensions between the two countries. Canada's main trade negotiator is in the US this week, with investors optimistic that Ottawa may be able to preserve the three-nation pact. Trump has warned he could go along with Mexico alone and impose charges on Canada if it does not come on board with the revised terms.