CRUDE OIL PRICE STEADIES AS IRAN NUCLEAR TALKS DERAIL

The price of crude oil rose slightly as the crisis in Ukraine continued and the Iran nuclear deal talks ended without much progress. Analysts have been watching the talks in Vienna hoping that they will help to remove the sanctions implemented by Donald Trump. As a result, we would see more supply of Iranian oil at a time when demand is significantly scarce. According to media reports, Russia has disagreed on key parts of that deal. In a statement, the country’s foreign affairs minister said that Russia wanted guarantees that that trade between the two countries will not be affected by sanctions applied to Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

European stocks bounced back on Friday as volatility continued and as investors reflected on the decision by the European Central Bank (ECB). The DAX rose by more than 3% while the FTSE 100 and CAC 40 rose by over 2%. In its decision on Thursday, the ECB sounded a bit hawkish even as officials warned about the slowdown of the EU economy. Military contractors were among the best performers in Europe as the bloc vowed to double their weapons support to 1 billion euros. Many countries in the bloc have also vowed to boost their defense spending.

The British pound bounced back after the positive economic data from the UK. According to the Office of National Statistics (ONS), the country’s economy expanded from 6% in December to 10% in January as the country ended most of its Covid restrictions. On a month-on-month basis, the economy expanded by 0.8%. Other numbers showed that the country’s economy was doing well. For example, manufacturing production rose to 3.8% while industrial production moved o 2.3%. Further, output in the construction sector also flourished.

GBPUSD

The GBPUSD pair has been in a deep downward trend in the past few days as demand for the US dollar has risen. It fell to a weekly low of 1.3051 today and then bounced back to the current 1.3117. On the four-hour chart, the pair is still below the short and long term moving averages while the MACD has started a bullish divergence pattern. The pair will likely remain in the current level during the American session.

EURUSD

The EURUSD pair moved higher as European stocks rose. It is trading at 1.1028, which is slightly above the intraday low of 1.1023. On the four-hour chart, the pair is between the 23.6% and 38.2% Fibonacci retracement levels. It is also along the 25-day and 50-day moving averages while the MACD is at the neutral level. The RSI is moving sideways, Therefore, the pair will likely end the week in the current range because there is no scheduled data from the US.

NAS100

The Nasdaq 100 futures also rose sharply during the European session as volatility continued. It rose to a high of $13,760, which was the highest point since Tuesday. The price is along the upper side of the Bollinger Bands and slightly above the 25-day moving average. The RSI is also pointing upwards. Therefore, the index will likely keep rising during the American session.