December 23. Great Britain is on the verge of a trade blockade

UK industrialists fear that the country could face the threat of a food crisis. In particular, the country is facing an impending shortage of fruits and vegetables, and shoppers are lining up at supermarkets in London.

The fact is that due to the mutating coronavirus, a number of European countries have suspended transport links with Great Britain. And now, with food supply chains disrupted, London is on the verge of a trade blockade. Analysts note that the volume of supplies from the European Union amounted to a quarter of the total volume of the previous year.

In addition, port disruptions mean that British meat and fish exporters are unable to ship their goods to Europe. As it is known, the European Union is highly dependent on supplies from Britain. For example, in France there may not be enough fish for Christmas due to blocking of cargo.

December 25. What awaits the oil market in 2021?

The outgoing year will be remembered for numerous anti-records: a fall in demand by 25%, overcrowding of oil storage facilities and a drop in prices for the first time in history. The reason for such events was the coronavirus pandemic in the world, which led to an unprecedented drop in oil prices: Brent collapsed to the level of $15 per barrel, and for the first time in history, WTI completely went into negative territory, reaching minus $40 (suppliers paid extra to buyers for oil export).

However, experts believe that next year will be more successful for «black gold», and the price of a Brent barrel will remain in the region of $45-55 per barrel. By the end of 2020, OPEC's coordinated efforts to balance the oil market, as well as news of the successful testing of vaccines against COVID-19, helped the oil rise to $50 per barrel.

The demand for oil products in the outgoing year is gradually approaching 97-99% of 2019, but air traffic has not yet been restored. Moreover, the new mutation Covid casts doubt on the imminent opening of borders. At the same time, the world economy continues to grow, which was facilitated by the stimulating programs of central banks. In such conditions, an optimistic scenario for further dynamics of the oil market is still more likely, experts say.

It should be added that the negative effect on demand from the pandemic will come to naught by the end of the first half of 2021, and the OPEC+ deal will remain in one form or another. However, in the unlikely scenario of canceling the agreement to cut oil production, the price of «black gold» may fall to the range of $35-45 per barrel. But, again, this is extremely unlikely.

December 31. Senate Republicans blocked bill to increase payments to Americans

Republicans in the Senate have blocked a bill passed by the House of Representatives to increase the amount of incentive payments during the coronavirus pandemic from $600 to $2 thousand.

The head of the Republican majority in the US Senate, Mitch McConnell, said that he did not welcome the intention «to throw more borrowed money into the hands of rich Democratic friends who do not need help anyway.» Other demands of Donald Trump, in the form of an investigation of alleged violations in the presidential elections and establishing the responsibility of social networks for publishing content, the Democrats refused to discuss at all.

We recall that on Monday, the House of Representatives of the US Congress approved an increase in stimulus payments requested by President Donald Trump from $600 to $2 thousand. A day earlier, Trump signed the country's budget for the 2021st fiscal year in the amount of $2.3 trillion. The budget includes a $900 billion package of measures to support the economy in a pandemic.

January 05. Experts named the key risks of 2021

Analysts of the consulting company Eurasia Group named the main risks for the economy, international politics and states in general, which they may face in 2021.

The first line in the ranking of the top 10 risks is occupied by the «divided America». Experts suggest that a huge part of the US population will consider the head of state illegitimate. For example, incumbent President Donald Trump's refusal to acknowledge presidential election results is a unique case in US history that signals a strong internal division in America.

The second risk is, of course, the coronavirus pandemic. Its further development threatens not only the lives and health of people, but also political stability and the world economy. Moreover, the distribution of vaccines can lead to the division of populations and states into haves and have-nots.

The third place in the ranking is taken by the fight against climate change. According to experts, global cooperation in this area can be replaced by competition.

In addition to these three points, the list of risks for 2021 includes growing tensions between China and the United States, difficulties with the international transfer of information and the likelihood of a conflict in cyberspace. Analysts also note the problems in the economies of Turkey and the Middle East, potential political risks in Germany associated with the resignation of Chancellor Angela Merkel, as well as the political crisis in Latin America.

January 11. Oil has renewed its February 2020 high

On Monday, March Brent oil futures surpassed $56 per barrel for the first time since February 25, 2020. During the day, quotations decreased slightly, but still remained above the $55 per barrel level. March futures for the Texas WTI reached $51.56 a barrel.

The oil market began its growth last week, after Saudi Arabia announced its intention to reduce oil production by 1 million barrels per day in February and March. Earlier at a meeting, the OPEC+ countries decided to keep the current production restrictions. At the same time, Russia and Kazakhstan were allowed to increase oil production in aggregate by 75 thousand barrels per day.

Today, pressure on quotes continues to be exerted by investors' fears about the prospects for global economic growth and demand for raw materials amid the further spread of coronavirus in many regions of the world. Traders are confident that a worsening epidemiological situation will inevitably lead to a slowdown in economic activity.

Additional pressure on the oil market was provided by the Baker Hughes report, according to which the number of operating oil rigs increased by 8 units to 275, which corresponds to an 8-month high.

January 13. Bitcoin shows worst dynamics since March 2020

On Wednesday, the most popular cryptocurrency drops in price, showing the worst trading dynamics since March 2020. Since the beginning of the new year, bitcoin has been showing increased volatility: until recently, the currency was updating its historical highs in the area of $42 thousand, and today it is already trading near $34 thousand.

At the same time, JPMorgan bank experts previously said that the cost of bitcoin could jump up to $146 thousand if the cryptocurrency acts as a competitor to gold as a «safe haven».

The jump in the price of bitcoin at the end of 2020 came as a surprise to the markets. The previous sharp rise in the digital currency was recorded at the end of 2017, when quotes rose to the level of $20 thousand. After that, there was a certain lull in the cryptocurrency market, and bitcoin entered a period of a protracted depression that lasted until the spring of 2020.

In the spring, with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, the demand for bitcoin grew along with the appetite for risky assets amid massive injections from the US Federal Reserve and central banks of other countries.

January 15. German economy shrank by only 5% in 2020

According to preliminary data from the German Federal Statistical Office, the country's economy contracted by only 5% in 2020, less than expected. This was facilitated by the decisive measures of the German government, which made it possible to minimize the damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The fall in GDP turned out to be less than the forecast of 5.1% and less serious than the record economic contraction in 2009 during the global financial crisis. The agency also noted that the German economy faced stagnation in the IV quarter of 2020, but analysts are still expecting positive dynamics in the new year.

Recall, that in March last year, the government of Angela Merkel took a number of measures to rescue and stimulate the largest economy in Europe. Specifically, incentives included helping companies struggling with the pandemic, job protection schemes for employees, tax cuts, and cash disbursements to boost domestic demand. The government also invested in green technologies and infrastructure.

January 19. Important macroeconomic publications of the day

Macroeconomic calendar on Tuesday does not differ in the variety of publications, however, attention should be paid to the following reports that can affect the dynamics of trading in the single European currency.

According to the report of the German Institute ZEW, the index of business sentiment in Germany, assessing business expectations, amounted to 61.8 points in January against 55.0 a month earlier. Analysts predicted the value of the January indicator at 55.1.

A similar report on business sentiment in the eurozone showed an increase in the indicator from 54.4 points in December to 58.3 points in January. Experts had expected the value of the January indicator at 54.1.

The German Federal Office for Statistics Destatis presented its final inflation report today. The consumer price index in Germany rose 0.5% in December, in line with preliminary data and analysts' forecasts. In annual terms, consumer inflation in December decreased by 0.7%.

January 21. ECB expectedly kept the base rate at zero level

The Board of Governors of the European Central Bank (ECB) at its meeting today kept the base interest rate at a record low zero, as expected by most experts. The rate has been at this level since March 2016.

The deposit rate was also left unchanged – at the level of minus 0.5%, while the margin rate remained at 0.25%.

The European regulator noted that it will keep all rates at (or below) the current level until inflation approaches the target level of 2%.

In addition to rates, the ECB left unchanged the parameters of the special asset purchase program Pandemic emergency purchase program (PEPP). At the moment, its volume is 1.85 trillion euros. The program will run at least until the end of March 2022.

January 26. The oil market has good growth potential

Oil prices continued to rise on Tuesday: Brent has reached $56 per barrel, WTI – $53,25. At the same time, the potential for further strengthening remains.

Some days earlier the information appeared that Iraq plans to reduce oil production to 3.6 million barrels per day, which will be compensation for unfair fulfillment of the terms of the OPEC + deal in 2020. And if Iraq keeps its promises, then the volume of production in the country will decline to the lowest level since 2015.

An additional factor in the rise in oil prices may be the interruptions in exports in Libya, caused by delays in the payment of salaries to the security personnel of the oil facilities. Before these conflicts, Libya saw a rapid recovery in oil production: in December, production reached 1.2 million barrels per day, while in August production volumes were less than 100 thousand barrels per day.

Also, market participants continue to monitor the spread of Covid-19 in the world and the progress of negotiations on new economic stimulus in the United States. US President Joe Biden is pushing for the early adoption of a new $1.9 trillion fiscal stimulus package. The inflow of new money into the US economy will put pressure on the dollar, which, in turn, will act as a factor supporting Brent quotes.

January 29. Bitcoin rose after Elon Musk's tweet

According to the trading data, the growth of bitcoin on Friday accelerated sharply, exceeding the $38 mark. The growth driver was the publication of Elon Musk on his Twitter page, where the entrepreneur mentioned bitcoin, adding the hashtag «bitcoin».

Also, the head of Tesla and SpaceX wrote a separate message: «In retrospect, it was inevitable.»

As a result, the rate of the first cryptocurrency immediately skyrocketed from $32 thousand to $38 thousand, stabilizing slightly during the day at $37 thousand.Thus, in about an hour, the price of bitcoin increased by more than 17%.

A few days earlier, Elon Musk «boosted» another cryptocurrency – previously little-known Dogecoin. It skyrocketed in value by more than 800% after Musk's «joke» mention on his Twitter account.

February 03. The number of jobs in the private sector in the United States in January grew better than expected

According to a press release from the analytical company Automatic Data Processing (ADP), the number of jobs in private companies in the United States in January increased by 174,000. Analysts predicted an increase in the indicator by only 49 thousand.

The December figure was revised down to a decrease of 78 thousand from a decrease of 123 thousand.

In the US small business, the number of jobs in January increased by 51 thousand, in medium-sized companies (with a staff of 50-499 people) – by 84 thousand, and large companies increased their staff by 39 thousand jobs.

In the service sector, the number of jobs increased by 156 thousand, in the production of goods – by 19 thousand. At the same time, the figure for private construction companies in the country in January increased by 18 thousand, in the manufacturing sector – by 1 thousand.