US unemployment claims rise unexpectedly

The dollar rose in European trade against major rivals after a recent hiatus from gains on profit-taking off 20-year highs.

The OPEC + meeting has officially started today to decide on production levels through June, amid important developments in the market, with Europe publicly preparing to ban Russian oil imports by the year's end, while China's demand declines.

Bank of England decided to hike interest rates by 25 basis points to 1%, the fourth such increase in a row, to 1%, as expected, after a previous 0.25% hike at the last meeting.