Global markets focus on ECB's stance on surging inflation

By Aysu Bicer

ANKARA (AA) - All eyes on will be the European Central Bank's (ECB) interest rate decision as well as the US February inflation data on Wednesday amid the grim impact of Russia's war in Ukraine.

Investors will look for clues in the ECB's response to the war, which has been sending inflation shocks worldwide just as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was waning.

Russia’s war on Ukraine and subsequent Western sanctions on Russia have caused a disruption in commodity markets, raising concerns of inflation surging further.

Investors are closely watching whether the ECB, and the US Federal Reserve next week, will change their policy stance on their monetary policy stance.

- Turkiye hosts talks between Russia, Ukraine

In an important development, the foreign ministers of Turkiye, Ukraine, and Russia met on Thursday in a bid to reach lasting peace as the Russia-Ukraine war starts its third week.

The high-level tripartite meeting began at 1100 AM local (0800GMT) on the eve of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Turkiye.

Prior to the meeting on Wednesday, Ukrainian Minister Dmytro Kuleba on social media voiced hope for "talks in good faith, not from a propaganda perspective, but really with the task of finding a solution on how to end the war waged by Russia."

With the rising hopes of diplomacy and the easing of concerns about oil supply, the price of Brent oil per barrel fell from $130 yesterday, closing the day with a drop of 12.7% at $111.1, then rising today to $111.5.

The price of gold per ounce is also finding buyers at $1,980 today, after closing at $1,991 with a fall of nearly 3% on Thursday.

While there was a drop of more than 5% in wheat prices, US 10-year bond yields hit 1.96%, the highest level in the last 10 days.

Also, as US President Joe Biden signed an executive order directing the government to come up with a plan to regulate cryptocurrencies, the price of Bitcoin fell 9% to $42,598, while today it dropped below $40,000.