Mixed course in global markets

While the Biden administration's new move plan in strategic oil reserves in the USA came to the fore in global markets, negative data from China put pressure on Asian markets.

31.03.2022 - 09:05

U.S. futures indices rose this morning as news of U.S. President Biden's plan to release nearly 1 million barrels a day from oil reserves over the next few months drove oil prices down.

S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 indices, which fell 0.63 percent and 1.10 percent, respectively on Wednesday, are experiencing increases of up to 0.5 percent in futures this morning.

In Asian markets, the effect of weak data announced in China is felt and indices are falling this morning, led by Chinese technology stocks. The Nikkei 225 is also negative, with the Japanese yen lowering today after two days' gains against the dollar.

The US 10-year bond yield, which has fallen every day this week, has dropped to 2.33 percent. The Bloomberg Dollar Index is up 0.11%.

Biden's oil plan
Biden administration in the USA is preparing to release large oil reserves to fight inflation.

The United States is considering releasing about one million barrels of oil a day from its reserves for several months. It is stated that the total amount of reserves released with the plan, which came to the agenda as a precaution against rising gasoline prices and decreasing supply due to the Russia-Ukraine war, could reach 180 million barrels.

While the final decision on the matter has not been made yet, a source stated that the said statement could be made as of Thursday.

The White House announced that US President Joe Biden will make statements on Thursday about his efforts to lower energy prices.

According to the data of the US Department of Energy, as of March 25, the US has 568 million barrels of oil reserves. On the one hand, the International Energy Agency (IEA) is also engaged in diplomatic initiatives with member countries for the release of oil reserves.

Today, the OPEC and non-OPEC ministerial meeting will meet to discuss the amount of oil production. Despite the IEA's calls, OPEC+ is expected to make a modest production increase decision for May. Meanwhile, Russia offered India a discount of $35 per barrel in oil compared to the pre-war price.