Oil prices reach highest level since 2008| FXMAG.COM

The Russian economy continues to be hit by increasing global sanctions as the conflict escalates between Russia and Ukraine and after recent news regarding a potential ban of russian imports from Europe and America has severely impacted the situation as the country continues to be more economically isolated and may have to search for alternative export destinations. While this news has led oil prices to reach the highest level since 2008 with brent spot approaching $140 per barrel, the russian economy continues to suffer from sanctions and with no end to the conflict in sight, we could see a continuation of this trend despite the talks of a nearing agreement on the Iran nuclear deal as well as potential for the US to revoke sanctions on Venezuela in an attempt to stabilize the energy market. While there seems to be a way to compensate for the Russian oil supply down the line, the situation remains dire for the time being and could lead to prices testing even higher levels as uncertainty across markets continues to grow.

Halifax HPI shows fastest increase since 2007

House prices rose at the fastest annual pace since 2007 and reached a new record high according to today’s Halifax HPI report with monthly house price growth rising to +0.5% following a slower start to the year. While the annual rate of growth increased by +10.8% and reached the strongest level since June 2007, the impact on household finances is still expected to weigh on the market this year as rising inflation and increased costs could undermine the post pandemic economic recovery and slow down the housing market significantly as demand becomes severely impacted.

Walid Koudmani

Market Analyst working in UK-Italian-Arabic markets covering a broad range of assets including stocks, commodities, FX and crypto. English, Italian and Arabic Speaker with a B.A in Business Management. Quoted in many prestigious publications including the Guardian, Barrons and Lefigaro and winner of bloomberg top forecast rank Q-2/Q-3 2020.