The US natural gas prices fell to a 2-month low. A drop in the technology sector on Wednesday had a negative impact on the broad market

Several ECB officials made statements yesterday. Cipollone of the ECB executive board said that if incoming data confirms that inflation is returning to the 2% target, removing some of the restrictive measures introduced in 2023 would be appropriate. This view was also supported by the representative of the ECB’s Governing Council, Centeno. He added that it was time for the ECB to change monetary policy due to weak economic growth and progress on disinflation. But there was a counter-argument from ECB Governing Council spokesman Holzmann, who said he was not fully convinced that the ECB should start cutting interest rates in June, citing the results of the Eurozone wage debate and rising tensions in the Middle East, which poses risks to inflation.

WTI crude prices held below $83 a barrel on Thursday, having lost more than 3% in the previous session, amid signs that US oil supply remains strong and demand is rising. EIA data showed that US crude inventories rose by 2.735 million barrels last week, increasing for the fourth week and beating market expectations for a 1.6 million barrel increase. Meanwhile, the US said it would reimpose oil sanctions against Venezuela in response to President Nicolas Maduro’s failure to fulfill his campaign pledges. European Union leaders also discussed new restrictions on Iran following its attack on Israel over the weekend. Any restrictions will keep oil prices from falling.

The US natural gas prices fell more than 3.5% to below $1.7 per MMBtu, the lowest in two months, due to a sharp decline in gas going to LNG export plants and a large surplus in storage. In addition, gas inventories are expected to be 36% above the seasonal average due to a combination of high initial inventory levels and a mild winter.

Asian markets traded without a single dynamic yesterday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 (JP225) was down 1.32%, China’s FTSE China A50 (CHA50) was up 0.79%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng (HK50) added 0.02%, and Australia’s ASX 200 (AU200) was negative 0.09%.

On Wednesday, China’s central bank said it will maintain a cautious monetary policy and ensure the efficient utilization of financial resources. It added that the authorities will ensure that the yuan’s movement is mainly driven by supply and demand. Meanwhile, economists forecast that China’s central bank will cut the RRR by 25 bps in Q3 2024 after it cut the rate by 50 bps earlier this year, the biggest cut in 2 years.

Australia’s labor market report came out mixed. Australia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 3.8% in March 2024 from February’s five-month low of 3.7% but below market forecasts of 3.9%. The number of unemployed increased by 20.6 thousand to 569.9 thousand, while those looking for work rose by 19.3 thousand to 371.3 thousand.