Raw material price concerns continue to weigh on global markets

By Belgin Yakisan Mutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) – The possibility of a US default and a debt crisis in China are negatively impacting investors’ appetite, as evident in monitoring of raw materials, especially oil prices in global markets, on Wednesday.

Global markets will follow figures for private sector jobs in the US, factory orders in Germany, and retail sales in the Eurozone due today.

Amid ongoing energy supply issues, the price of Brent oil reached its highest level since October 2018 at $82.9 per barrel, while the US benchmark West Texas Intermediate was traded at $79.6 per barrel, its peak since November 2014.

The US stock market recovered from massive losses in the previous session to end Tuesday on a high note.

European stocks also closed higher on Tuesday, bouncing back from the previous day’s losses despite new data showing that the Eurozone Purchasing Managers’ Index for the services sector sank to 56.4 in September, the lowest point since April.

Major stock markets in Asia closed mixed on Tuesday amid liquidity problems in China’s real estate sector and inflation concerns fueled by rising oil prices.