Afternoon Market Update – 18/11/2016 – by Jaz Singh

On the data side we’ve had PPI data from Germany which came in better than expected. This gave the Euro a bit of impetus against the dollar after yesterday’s losses. On the whole the greenback continues to strengthen, with the dollar index finding support at the 101.00 level in recent trade. The dollar yen pair has risen by more than 7 percent over the past fortnight. Odds for a Fed rate hike in December are at 96 percent using the futures market metric. European stocks have slipped across the board off the back of this dollar strength. We’ve also had news from Volkswagen that they shall cut 30,000 jobs, extending the losses in the DAX. Gold continues its leg lower as investors look away from the safe haven asset, dropping to $1,203 an ounce. WTI is trading up for the day as OPEC ministers held discussions with Russia in order make an output pact. Looking ahead we have Canadian CPI as the main data point this afternoon.