Forex Marketz Daily Forex News – Fully Markets Update
Crude oil futures contracts rose on Friday during the Asian trade session. The boost in sentiment comes after better than expected economic data, in the form of retail sales, lowered some trader concerns of an impending recession in the United States.
As of 12:50 am GMT, the international Brent crude oil futures contract added half a percent or 31 cents to trade at $58.54 a barrel. This contract shed over two percent on Thursday and three percent on Wednesday.
The Brent contract is still up about ten percent this year thanks to supply cuts led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-member states led by Russia, called the OPEC +, will be extended to March 20.
Recent comments out of Saudi Arabia have also helped the Brent contract. A Saudi official, last week, said that “Saudi Arabia is committed to do whatever it takes to keep the market balanced next year.”
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 43 cents to trade at 54.90 a barrel. This contract lost 1.4 percent on Thursday and 3.3 percent on Wednesday.
Crude Oil Traders Digest Better than Expected U.S. Retail Sales Data
For the month of July, U.S. retail sales rose by 0.7 percent. Consumers bought a range of products but cut back on car purchases. This welcomed piece of good news comes after a stark warning signal of a possible recession after the Treasury yield curve inverted for the first time in 12 years.
Trader sentiment was also boosted as positive trade war comments were made out of the United States. President Donald Trump said that trade talks with China were “productive.” Traders are hoping that this will reduce trade frictions between the two countries as those have sparked volatility in the global financial markets.
