Afternoon Market Update – 30/11/2016 – by Jaz Singh

The economic calendar has been busy this morning but all eyes are on the OPEC meeting in Vienna. Ministers present at the meeting are optimistic that a deal to cut production can be agreed, leading stocks and the currencies of oil producers higher. WTI currently trades near the $49 level, gaining some 7 percent for the day. Leaders in the equity space include BP and Shell, each climbing over 2.5 percent in morning trade. Now the market awaits the technicalities of this supposed deal before we see further traction in this bullish move. Elsewhere we’ve had Eurozone CPI data come in line with expectations on a YoY basis, with a slight beat on the comparable data for Italy. Moves in the Euro were mute except for against the yen, with the safe haven currency continuing its declines this morning. USDJPY is trading comfortably above the 113.00 level. The dollar index has advanced slightly after finding support at the 101.00 level despite suggestions that we could see dollar profit taking for the month end. Looking ahead we have plenty of data from the US and Canada this afternoon but any further OPEC news shall take precedence.