US drilling rigs count falls - Baker Hughes
Baker Hughes Co announced today that the US crude oil drilling rigs fell by 21 rigs to 237 during this week.
While the natural gas rigs remaind unchanged at 79 rigs, with the total of oil and gas rigs falling by 21 to 318.
Dollar keeps gains on strong safe-haven demand after negative Chinese news
The US dollar rose against most currencies on Friday, to maintain its gains on safe haven demand amid fears over a renewed tensions between the US and China.
China decided on Friday to not set a specific target for economic growth this year, which renewed concerns about the Covid-19 pandemic impact and a drop in demand.
Tensions between Washington and Beijing have escalated after accusations by several US officials that China is main the cause behind the coronavirus outbreak and the increase in global infections and deaths.
This came after the Trump administration accused China of mishandling the coronavirus outbreak and blaming it for the global pandemic and the death of hundreds of thousands of victims.
The US market will be closed next Monday in observance of the Memorial Day holiday.
The dollar index rose against a basket of currencies by 0.5% to 99.8 points as of 18:05 GMT, after it hit a high of 99.8 and a low of 99.3.
US stocks open lower on renewed trade war concerns
US stock indices fell on Friday, amid lingering concerns over a renewed trade war between the US and China on the origin of the coronavirus crisis.
The number of coronavirus infections has surpassed 5 million globally, with a death toll of hundreds of thousands victims, more than 90,000 thousand of which are US citizens.
President Donald Trump told Fox News that China's mishandling of the outbreak is the main cause behind the death of hundreds of thousands globally.
The US Senate yesterday passed a bill that would prevent Chinese companies from listing their shares for public offering on the US stock exchanges.
As for stocks, Dow Jones fell 0.5% or 132 points to 24,341 as of 14:07 GMT, Nasdaq fell 0.2% or 20 points to 9,264, and S&P 500 fell 0.3% or 10 points to 2,937.
Palladium drops nearly 5%, falls below $2,000 mark
Palladium futures fell on Friday, to give some the gains scored earlier during the week, falling below the $2,000 psychological threshold once again, as the US dollar rose against most currencies, in addition to fears of renewed tensions between the US and China.
The US Senate yesterday passed a bill that would prevent Chinese companies from listing their shares for public offering on the US stock exchanges.
This came after the Trump administration accused China of mishandling the coronavirus outbreak and blaming it for the global pandemic and the death of hundreds of thousands of victims.
The dollar index rose against a basket of currencies by 0.5% to 99.8 points as of 13:47 GMT, after it hit a high of 99.8 and a low of 99.3.
Palladium June futures fell 4.7% to trade at $1,970.5 an ounce as of 13:48 GMT, after hitting today's high at $2,077.8 and a low of $1,944.8.