EU markets opened higher on Monday, overall activity limited

European markets opened higher on Monday as the US embarked on a holiday limiting activity ahead of the release of key US employment data later this week.

The DAX was 0.55% higher in early trade on Monday, the CAC 40 followed, up by 0.75% and the FTSE 100 grew by 0.13%.

In contrast, markets were performing negatively last week, falling by around 1.4%, the fourth consecutive weekly decline.

Tightening government policies and rising living costs are two of the main reasons currently influencing global markets.

Overall activity is expected to be limited on Monday as the US is celebrating the 4th of July.

Oil prices were slightly higher amid growing worries over tight supply

Oil prices were slightly higher on Monday morning as fears of supply tightness grew and members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) reported a lower output.

Brent Crude futures were 0.21% higher valued at $111.86 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were just 0.15% higher costing $108.59 a barrel.

Output from the 10 members of OPEC in June fell by 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 28.52 million bpd off their pledged increase of around 275,000 bpd. This was influenced by drops in production in Libya which faces a disruption due to political unrest. The country’s exports have dropped to between 365,000 bpd and 409,000 bpd, down about 865,000 bpd compared to normal levels, the National Oil Corporation said last week.

Gold futures also higher on Monday

Gold futures were higher in early trade on Monday, rising by 0.54% and costing $1,811.40/oz.

Silver futures followed, growing by 0.44% and palladium futures gained just 0.09%. Platinum futures, on the other hand, dropped, losing 0.76% of their value.

Central banks in Norway and Sweden hike interest rates

Central banks in Norway and Sweden have joined other central banks by opting for a 50 basis-point interest rate hike, delivering the biggest policy tightening move in over two decades.

In June, the Federal Reserve increased interest rates by 75 basis points and the Swiss National Bank bumped rates with a half-point hike.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand raised its cash rate by 50 basis points to 2% at the end of May and is expecting to double that to 4% over the coming year. The Bank of Canada also raised rates by 50 basis points to 1.5% at the start of June. The Bank of England followed, raising interest rates by 25 basis points in the middle of June and bringing rates up to 1.25% – the highest since January 2009.

Germany posts first monthly trade deficit in over 30 years

Germany posted its first ever monthly trade deficit in over 30 years in May as the prices of oil and gas imports soared.

According to data, Germany’s import bill surged by around 28% year-over-year. The country’s exports fell for the third time in five months by 0.5% in calendar and seasonally adjusted terms but were still up 11.7% on the year.

Germany heavily relied on Russian energy however, this was brutally cut down as the country imposed sanctions on Russian fossil fuel imports due to the country’s war in Ukraine. The deficit is expected to widen in June, reflecting a 60% cut in Russian gas supplies.

Top cryptocurrencies continued bearish journey on Monday, BTC down to $19,000

Top cryptocurrencies were bearish on Monday morning with bitcoin (BTC), the number one cryptocurrency by market capitalisation, unable to surpass the $20,000 level down at $19,100.

Ethereum (ETH) fell by 1.08% in the past 24 hours, down to a little over $1,000, BNB was 0.96% lower in the past day, Cardano (ADA) fell by 0.28% and Solana (SOL) was 0.25% lower.

The popular Elon Musk-endorsed memetoken Dogecoin (DOGE), on the other hand, saw minor gains, growing by just 0.17% in the past 24 hours.

Non-fungible token (NFT) sales hit a 12-month low in June amid a cryptocurrency crash. NFT sales totalled to just over $1bn in June. Sales were at a peak in January when they reached $12.6bn.

Note, cryptocurrency CFD trading is restricted in the UK for all retail clients.