Ipek Ozkardeskaya
Swissquote Bank Ltd
The week starts on quite a tense note as the tensions between Ukraine and Russia don’t seem to be headed in the right direction with reports on Friday hinting at the possibility of a Russian invasion before ‘the end of the Beijing Olympics’.
European equities are deep in the red, with FTSE 100 somehow doing less bad than the others on rising energy and commodity prices, but the Euro Stoxx is already down 2.33% and the DAX by 2.85%.
US crudes flirts with the $95 per barrel, and gold welcomes decent safe-haven capital. While US sovereigns, energy and gold are the favorite destinations for those who are seeking protection in the actual environment, any relief on the Ukrainian front could send the recent gains in oil and gold crumbling.
On the economic agenda: US PPI and FOMC minutes will be closely watched. We know that engineering a policy that would bring inflation down to the 2% target in the US would also bring unnecessary stress on the market and on the economy. Would that help cooling the Fed hawks?
This report has been prepared by Swissquote Bank Ltd and is solely been published for informational purposes and is not to be construed as a solicitation or an offer to buy or sell any currency or any other financial instrument. Views expressed in this report may be subject to change without prior notice and may differ or be contrary to opinions expressed by Swissquote Bank Ltd personnel at any given time. Swissquote Bank Ltd is under no obligation to update or keep current the information herein, the report should not be regarded by recipients as a substitute for the exercise of their own judgment.
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