Russian gas as a main topic
More uncertainty is coming to the natural gas prices in Europe, since Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, demands all the trades of this commodity with “unfriendly” and hostile nations to be carried out in rubles, not dollars or euros. This is a pretty important news, which is a reason why we are also preparing an article on this topic.
Saudi Aramco is working with China to build a $12.2 billion oil refinery. The refinery will be in northeast China, and it is expected to be fully operational in 2026. About 300,000 barrels of oil a day will be housed at the refinery.
Gold rose above $2,000 for the first time in one year. This is because of the ongoing fears about the crash of the banking system. Gold is up 10% so far in 2023.
WTI crude fell by more than 5% to $67.5. This is the lowest level since December 2021, marking the end of the commodity rally for now.
WTI crude drops amid high volatility
WTI crude fell by more than 5% to below $73, close to a level not seen since early December. The decline is likely caused by financial contagion fears following the Sillicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank collapses.
Commodities fall after Fed’s press
Silver tumbled from $21 to $20 in the midst of a global selloff. The commodity fell by almost 5% in a single day. Platinum also dropped by 4.7%, and gold declined by 1.8%.
US natural gas tumbled 10% when the market opened. This is after the commodity bottomed out and rose almost 50% in less than two weeks.
Virgin Orbit ceases operations
Virgin Orbit Holdings closed indefinitely due to cash-crunch concerns that have crippled many other tech businesses. Due to its inability to get funding, the company announced it was reducing 85% of its personnel as well. The stock (VORB) fell 42% as a result, down 98% from its peak of $10.
Boerse Stuttgart gains crypto license
Boerse Stuttgart, one of the largest German stock exchanges, entered the crypto world. It has received a license as a crypto custodian from Germany’s financial regulator (BaFin). This license allows the exchange of custody and trading of digital assets for its clients.
The annual inflation rate in Euro Area fell from 8.5% in February to 6.9% in March. Netherlands’s inflation tumbled from 8% to 4.4%. French inflation eased from 6.3% to 5.6%. Poland’s inflation dropped from 18.4% to 16.2%. Austria’s inflation fell from 10.9% to 9.1%.
Ledger raises $109 million from VCs
Crypto company Ledger has raised $109 million in the Series C round. This funding round put the company’s valuation at $1.4 billion. Some of the investors in the round included Cathay Innovation, True Global Ventures, Digital Finance Group and VaynerFund.
UBS CEO, Ralph Hamers. is stepping down on April 5th after the company acquired financially troubled Credit Suisse. Sergio Ermotti is about to succeed Hamers, who was UBS’ CEO from 2011 to 2020.
Inflation levels in EU mostly drop
The result of the annual inflation rate in Spain surprised, dropping from 6% in February to 3.3% in March. This is very close to the central bank’s goal. Germany’s inflation also fell, from 8.7% to 7.4%, a little above the estimated 7.3%. Belgium’s inflation held steady at 6.6%.
