Editor
The U.S jobless claims boost wall street gains and concerns Concerns about supply disruptions deepen oil market losses.
Looking back to December, investors are sure that the tightening Montray policy will come to an end the following year. Wall Street main indexes have been scroring wins for the past few weeks. With a bit higher than-expected labor market numbers, retail data, and slight drops in inflation speed, this month has to be the best in terms of data, profits, and market explanation.
Today, the Bureau of Statistics released the weekly jobless claims report. The data came in the previous week. The report boosted Wall Street gains and market sentiments of a fast rally.
The S&P 500 benchmark was up by 0.14% as of 13:30 a.m. ET. The tech-heavy composite Nasdaq rose by 0.20%, and the Dow Futures rose by 0.14%. Despite the low earnings, the stock market remains resilient despite the political concerns and the aftermath of the Palastina and Idsrilan wars in the Middle East.
Moving on to the data released this morning, the U.S. labor market is showing signs of recession and collapsing demand. Jobless weekly claims show that the number of Americans filing initial claims for unemployment has risen by 12,000. With this month, the data stands at 218.000.
In the energy sector, oil prices have dropped significantly this month despite the oil price cut, which was expected to drive oil prices higher. Energy prices, particularly West Texas Intermediate, fell by 22% in the fourth quarter. The average price of gasoline in the United States dropped by 18% to $3.21 per gallon. The decline in prices was influenced by the record-breaking crude oil production in the U.S., surpassing Russia and Saudi Arabia. Oil prices were one of the most discussed subjects this year. On the one hand, Amerca production has increased significantly due to several macroeconomic factors. Yet on the opposite side, Saudi Arabia and other members have cut their output. This slight disparity has not affected oil prices positively. The index remains mixed based on global market expectations.
In today’s session, the West Texas intermediate declined by 2.42%, heading to its lowest level. The current WTI is trading at a market price of $72 per barrel. Bernt crude oil prices also experienced a 2.4% decline to a market price of $77.5 per barrel. As for gasoline prices, the costs remain high, and the price of gasoline rose by 4.8%.
The shift in oil prices followed announcements from shipping companies, including Denmark’s Maersk and France’s CMA CGM, stating their readiness to transit the Red Sea route. Concerns about supply disruptions had risen due to the halt in Red Sea routes earlier in the month after Yemen’s Houthi militant group targeted vessels. The return of major shipping firms to the Red Sea route contributed to the perception that the route was reopening, alleviating concerns and potentially bringing supplies to the market faster.
