Many economists took Brainard’s comments as a sign the Fed wouldn’t be raising rates when it meets next week.
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LONDON (AP) – An easing in US rate hike expectations following a speech by one of the Federal Reserve’s policymakers helped shore up stock markets around the world on Tuesday. A barrel of benchmark crude was down $1.10, or 2.4 percent at $45.20 while Brent crude, the worldwide standard, fell 93 cents, or 1.9 percent, to $47.42 a barrel.
Oil prices dropped as much as 3 percent on Tuesday after both the world’s energy watchdog and OPEC revised forecasts that signalled the global crude glut could persist for much longer than expected.
Strategists at USA investment bank Citigroup said that Italian stocks could be worth a buy, based on expectations that Prime Minister Matteo Renzi would emerge from a forthcoming referendum in a stronger position, provided that investors chose carefully.
While the USA economic calendar has been quiet this week, that’s not to say that the market has recently downgraded its assessment of the economy.
The price of oil fell 3% after the International Energy Agency’s remarks about oil demand.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 177 points, or 1%, to 18,149, with only Apple Inc.(AAPL) shares trading in positive territory among blue-chip names, rising 2.5%.
Other markets: The dollar climbed against other major currencies (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dollar-flattens-out-in-wake-of-dovish-fed-signal-2016-09-13), sending the ICE Dollar Index 0.3% higher to 95.4160.
The IEA, which represents 29 oil-producing countries, is predicting slower growth in demand for oil because of a more pronounced economic slowdown during the third quarter of the year, among other factors.
Libor has risen 37 percent since late June as USA money market funds have scaled back their holdings of short-term bank debt in advance of new regulations. Brent crude, the benchmark for global oil prices, inched up 16 cents to $47.26 a barrel in London.
Anadarko Petroleum was down 2.2% at $56.50 after it agreed to buy Freeport McMoRan’s Gulf of Mexico assets. Verizon shed $1.12, or 2.1 percent, to $51.45 and AT&T fell 74 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $39.97.
U.S. government bond prices fell.
Movers and shakers: Shares of Intersil Corp.(ISIL) jumped 8.8% after Japanese chip maker Renesas Electronics Corp.
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One-month Libor slipped to 0.52428 percent from Monday’s 0.52772 percent, which was the highest since March 2009. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was down 0.5 percent. Those fears were a big reason stocks tumbled in January and early February.
