WTI crude oil prices are hedging up during early Wednesday trading. Figures released late on Tuesday revealed a drop in US crude stocks, with a reduction of 3.5 million barrels during the week running up to April 29. The narrative on oil has been conditioned by the way concerns fluctuate between supply and demand side issues. Earlier in the week demand had been under the spotlight, as the situation in China, where COVID lockdowns continue to restrict traveling and reduce the demand for oil, in a dynamic that saw the price of the barrel drop slightly. Today the market focus appears to have shifted, once again, to the supply side, with prices rising slightly.
Ricardo Evangelista – Senior Analyst, ActivTrades
European Shares
Stocks traded sideways, flirting with their opening level in Europe on Wednesday, as investors brace for today’s FOMC meeting. While Fed chairman, Jerome Powell, is widely expected to announce an historical 50-basis point rate hike in the end of the afternoon, investors will scrutinize his speech, looking for more clues on tapering and balance sheet reduction. Powell’s words about how aggressively the Fed will tame inflation is likely to shape market sentiment for the next couple of weeks at least, even if riskier assets remain under the pressure of other major drivers. Meanwhile, energy shares may register a volatility spike today, especially as traders await the EIA Crude Oil Inventory report due later in the afternoon. The STOXX-50 index remains flat so far, trading around 3,750 pts, in the middle of a 150-pts wide range.
Experienced writer and journalist, working in the global online trading sector, Steffy is the Editor of LeapRate. She has previous experience as a copywriter and has been with the company since January 2020. Steffy has a British and American Studies degree from St. Kliment Ochridski University in Sofia.
