22.11. Oil rose from 7-week lows, euro fell on fears of COVID return

News for today, November 22:

The stock market started the week unsteady, while oil and euro were under pressure on Monday. This was prompted by the return of COVID-19 restrictions in Europe and talk of a hasty cut in stimulus from the U.S. Federal Reserve.

Oil prices climbed from seven-week lows on Monday but remained under pressure after Japan said it was considering a release of its oil reserves and the COVID-19 situation in Europe worsened, prompting fears of oversupply and weak demand. Prices for WTI and Brent fell to their lowest level since October 1 at the beginning of the session. They decreased about 3% on Friday, declining for the fourth straight week for the first time since March 2020.

The euro fell 0.2% to $ 1.1280, close to a 16-month low. In recent sessions, the single currency has been the main driver in the markets as investors have been betting that the European economy is lagging significantly behind the U.S. in terms of economic recovery. Bitcoin was under pressure after its worst week in two months and fell 3% to $ 57,000.

The price of Brent crude is $ 79.29 per barrel, WTI — $ 76.37. EUR/USD is at 1.1272, GBP/USD — 1.3432, gold is at $ 1,845.90 per ounce.­­­­