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Gold prices rebound, as NATO rebukes Russia claims
Gold prices were higher on Wednesday, as NATO and the United States rebuked claims that Russia was withdrawing troops from the Russian border.
Speaking today, NATO’s Chief Jens Stoltenberg stated that it “remains to be seen whether there is a Russian withdrawal”.
Stoltenberg went on to add that, “So far, we have not seen any de-escalation on the ground. On the contrary it appears that Russia continues their military build-up”.
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This came after Russian officials yesterday stated that “some troops” were being sent un, in a bid to de-escalate tensions.
XAUUSD was up $20 in today’s session.
U.S. retail sales jump to 10-month high
Retail sales in the United States rose to a 10-month high in January, despite consumer prices also rising last month.
According to data released by the Commerce Department, sales rose by 3.8% last month, better than the 2% increase markets had expected.
This comes as sales in December were revised downward, to now show total sales of 2.5%.
source: tradingeconomics.com
Despite the threat of the omicron variant in January, shoppers in the U.S. were still actively spending, which is good news for the U.S. economy, which has been struggling as of late.
The S&P 500 was marginally lower as the market digested the news.
Airbnb up 5% on strong earnings
Shares in Airbnb were up for a second consecutive session, as the home rental platform reported better than expected earnings.
The company held its Q4 earnings call after yesterday’s closing bell and announced that both earnings and revenue beat estimates.
Revenue for the quarter came in at $1.53 billion vs. $1.46 billion markets had expected.
This came on earnings of 8 cents per share, better than the 3 cents per share expected.
The company’s CEO, Brian Chesky attributed the growth to the increase in employers allowing staff to work-from-home.
He stated that, “For the first time ever, millions of people can now live anywhere”.
$ABNB was over 5% higher as of writing.
“Stock price movements actually begin to reflect new developments before it is generally recognized that they have taken place.”
–Arthur Zeikel.
