In the commodity market, oil prices are declining after a robust rally that sent futures to their highest levels since early March. WTI is down over 1.60% while Brent is down only 0.04%. Trading volume was low due to the Thanksgiving holiday in the US. Investors are worried about disagreements in the OPEC countries over maintaining supply cuts after the deadline expires in January. Still, the hopes that the vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna would boost economies prevented crude prices from further declines.
Elsewhere, gold is maintaining above $1,800 on mixed vaccine news. The metal has added 0.07% to $1,807. Gold futures traded above $1,950 earlier this month, but prices tumbled on vaccine hopes and after Trump gave his nod to Biden’s transitioning to the White House.
In FX, the US dollar is bearish as risk sentiment has improved worldwide. The USD Index is down 0.08% to 91.892, close to the lowest level in over two years. EUR/USD is up 0.11% to 1.1926.
The British pound is up over 0.10% versus the greenback but slightly down against the euro, as post-Brexit negotiations continue. The next week might be decisive for the trade talks. The two sides still cannot reach consensus on the sensitive issues.
