Morning Briefing: OPEC meets but nothing is certain

OPEC meets but nothing is certain

OPEC leaders are meeting in Vienna and oil prices have already slipped following a press conference at the start of the talks.

Nothing new was said with a 9-month extension of the output cut still the aim of the Saudis and others. However, the decline in prices may reflect an expectation among some that a larger output cut would also be on the agenda; that does not appear to be the case.

Gold prices have continued higher following a decline for the greenback triggered by the Fed minutes which suggest an interest rate ‘soon’ and a scaling back of its balance sheet.

Asian equity markets closed mostly higher led by a 1.4 per cent jump for Shanghai.

European indexes are trending higher. UK GDP data was slightly weaker than expected while exports jumped, boosted by a weaker pound.

Wall Street and Toronto are expected to open higher. The Canadian Business Barometer is due along with a speech from BoC Deputy Governor Sylvain Leduc. US data includes trade balance and initial jobless claims.
 

	Latest	1 month ago	1 year ago
North America (previous session)
US Dow Jones	21,012.42 (+0.36 per cent)	+0.08 per cent	+17.71 per cent
TSX Composite	15,419.49 (-0.37 per cent)	-2.07 per cent	+9.72 per cent
Europe (at 5.00am ET)
UK FTSE	7,521.88 (+0.09 per cent)	+3.38 per cent	+20.10 per cent
German DAX	12,644.42 (+0.01 per cent)	+1.42 per cent	+23.90 per cent
Asia (at close)
China CSI 300	3,485.66 (+1.80 per cent)	+1.30 per cent	+13.94 per cent
Japan Nikkei	19,813.13 (+0.36 per cent)	+3.85 per cent	+18.24 per cent
Other Data (at 5.00am ET)
Oil (Brent)	Oil (WTI)	Gold	Can. Dollar
53.71 (-0.46 per cent)	51.11 (-0.49 per cent)	1256.80 (+0.30 per cent)	U$0.7440
			Aus. Dollar
			U$0.7472

Central bankers welcome global FX code

A global code for the wholesale foreign exchange market has been welcomed by central bank governors.
The FX Global Code will be maintained by the newly established Global Foreign Exchange Committee.

"The FX Global Code sets good practices for market participants to follow and will support a robust, fair and transparent market, underpinned by high ethical standards," said GEM Chair Agustín Carstens, Governor of the Bank of Mexico.

The private sector is being urged to develop and establish mechanisms to support the code’s adoption.