Oil Prices Soar, OPEC+ Meeting and Iran’s Output in Focus

Oil

Oil prices edged higher where WTI hit its highest level since October 2018. The economic recovery is picking up pace and especially in the manufacturing sector, where most of the PMI's continued to surprise to the upside. On the other hand, the US driving season has officially started, raising optimism over oil-demand levels, with citizens looking to break free from covid19 restrictions. Meanwhile, investors are anticipating the OPEC+ meeting where producers are expected to follow up carefully on the developments and avoid any headwinds, while also the nuclear deal negotiations continue to be a main event for energy markets. The West Texas Intermediate crude July contract rose to 68.29, and the Brent blend August contract advanced to $70.87.

USD

The dollar index which measures the greenback against a basket of major currencies drifted lower to 89.71, erasing most of its recent gains. Investors are favoring riskier assets as optimism over the recovery increases. Moreover, the expectations of the Fed keeping its current policy settings unchanged continued to weigh on the dollar. Market participants are looking forward to a series of economic releases that could spark changes to those probabilities. The EURUSD rose to $1.2241, and the GBPUSD rallied to $1.4250, its highest level since 2018.

AUD

The Reserve Bank of Australia concluded its monetary policy meeting by keeping policy settings unchanged as widely expected. The 3-year bond yields target remained at 0.1%, and the bank reiterated that the official cash rate will not raise until inflation is sustainable within the 2-3% target. The Australian dollar was little changed on the headline but continued to benefit from the risk-on sentiment, where the AUDUSD rallied to $0.7768.

Equities

Major US stock index futures inched higher amid optimism over the progress of the economic recovery. Investors will look forward to ISM manufacturing and non-manufacturing PMI, in addition to the May jobs report to grasp more insight into the economic activity. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose to 34688, the S&P500 futures rallied to 4218, and Nasdaq futures advanced to 13723.

Metals

Gold prices retreated from their highest level since early January, as yields rebounded a little. The prices edged higher during the Asian session to $1916 but failed to keep track as 10-year yields rebounded, driving the price again near the opening level of $1906. The price of a silver ounce hovered above $28.20, and palladium marched higher to $2868.

Major Economic Events