- European indices jumped over 1% on the last trading day of the month, however were down for the third consecutive quarter, the longest losing streak since early 2011.
- Flash data on CPI inflation in the eurozone showed an acceleration from 9.1% from 10.0% YoY. Market expected an acceleration to 9.7% YoY.
- Russia formally annexed the four eastern and southern Ukrainian regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. Putin said that is ready for negotiations. Ukraine leaders responded that they are "ready for a dialogue with Russia, but with another president of Russia" and applied for "accelerated" NATO membership. NATO's secretary general Stoltenberg said that alliance commitment to support Ukraine is unchanged as these territories belong to Ukraine.
- Wall Street indices extend recent slide as fresh PCE and personal spending figures pointed out that price pressures remain strong. The FED 's preferred gauge of inflation unexpectedly surged to 4.9% from the upwardly revised 4.7% in July, beating market estimates of 4.7%.
- Fed Vice Chair Brainard stressed the need to tackle inflation and the importance of not shrinking from the task until it is finished.
- For the quarter, the Dow heads for its third consecutive quarterly decline, and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were on track for their third first quarterly loss for the first time since 2009.
- WTI price fell below $80 per barrel on Friday, set to decline for the fourth straight month and on track to post their first quarterly loss since the first quarter of 2020, down over 20% since the end of June.
- Gold price erased early gains and is currently trading slightly above the flatline around $1661.00 per ounce, while silver rose at one point over 3.0% despite a stronger dollar.
- The dollar weakened to 112, the lowest in a week, however USD is on track for its fourth monthly gain and up almost 10% this quarter, supported by expectations that the Fed would remain aggressive in battling inflation even at the risk of a recession. Currently GBP and USD are the best performing major currencies while AUD and CHF lag the most.
- Wheat price jumped 5.0% after the USDA report showed lower than expected production in the US. Wheat crop turned out 1.650 billion bushels, below market forecasts for 1.778 billion bushels and August’s estimates of 1.783 billion bushels.
- Soybean price fell 2.0% after US stocks rose to 0.274 billion bushels as of September 1st from 0.256 billion bushels a year ago and above expectations of 0.242 billion.
- Major crypto currencies are trading slightly higher despite downbeat moods on the US stock market. Bitcoin briefly broke above psychological resistance at $20.000, while Ethereum tested $1370 level.
US500 is once again approaching key support at 3630 pts. Source: xStation5
