Economic uncertainty and mixed figures on global markets
The OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) has issued a major warning about the global economy. According to the organization, global economic growth will slow down rather than accelerate. This is mainly due to the situation in the United States, where economic activity is growing less rapidly than previously thought.
Despite this gloomy report on global growth, European stock markets showed a positive picture around noon. European prices rose on Monday after strong economic figures from China were announced. These positive signals from Asia temporarily gave investors in Europe more confidence in international trade.
In the United States, the stock market situation was less clear on Monday. There were mixed reports about the opening of Wall Street. While some analysts initially expected a flat to slightly higher start, later figures from the so-called 'futures' pointed to a slightly lower opening of the American markets. This shows that there is currently a lot of uncertainty among investors.
Economic figures from the New York region were also not very positive. The Empire State index, which measures manufacturing activity, fell significantly in March. Additionally, it appeared that American consumers spent less money than expected; retail sales in February rose less rapidly than analysts had hoped.
There is also less optimism in the American construction sector. Confidence among homebuilders in the United States declined further in March. On the other hand, there were also figures that were exactly as expected: business inventories in the US rose in January in line with economists' earlier predictions.
Finally, there is news about gold and cryptocurrencies. The bank UBS expects the price of gold to rise further, after the price already reached a record high of over $3,000 per troy ounce on Friday. In the crypto market, there is a lot of attention on Ripple (XRP). Analysts are watching this coin tensely, as the price must soon choose a clear direction and a breakout may be approaching.