Market information Thursday, February 4, 2016

Comments from a Federal Reserve official have created a sharp decrease in the US dollar, as there seems to be a suggestion of fewer rate hikes. The tumble of the US dollar is the biggest since the March 2009 quantitative easing plunge and resulted in a seven-week low against a basket of currencies, the euro climbed with 1.7% to $1.1087 for example. The decrease of the US dollar has resulted in an oil price increase of about 8 percent, even though data shows that US crude inventories are at record highs.

In January the US service sector has decreased in activity to a two-year low, which may suggest that economic growth in the US has weakened further at the start of the first quarter of 2016. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) stated that their index of activities in the services sector fell to 53.5 in January 2016, the lowest level since February 2014, from 55.8 in December 2015. A value above 50 indicates expansion in the service sector.

The credit rating agency Moody’s expects housing prices this year to rise as much as 5% in the Netherlands. This price recovery is relatively low compared to other European countries such as the United Kingdom, which is expected to experience a 7% increase of housing prices.

The 6M Euribor remained unchanged at -0.09%. The 10Y Swap decreased with 2 basispoints to 0.64%.