Markets on holiday while Russia and France meet | Calamatta Cuschieri

Monday, showed a dent in trading volumes due to holidays in the UK markets and US markets being Spring Bank Holiday and Memorial Day respectively. In Europe, Italian banks continued to create worries but markets stayed cautious, focusing on the upcoming general election in the United Kingdom. This cautious market approach created greater investment incentives in commodities, which are viewed as safe-haven assets.

Tracking this, although precious metals traded mostly flat, gold remained stable, trading around its highest value in a month, partly because of the cautious market, the weakening US Dollar and an increase in geopolitical tensions that emerged following the outcome of the Group of Seven summit in Italy this weekend. The United States was the only country that remained undecided on the climate change topic, causing German chancellor Angela Merkel to call the talks "unsatisfactory."

Syria sanctions

The European Union extended sanctions against the Syrian government until 1 June 2019, the EU’s Council said in a statement today. The EU first imposed sanctions on Syria in May 2011. The sanctions include entities and persons targeted by a travel ban and an asset freeze over the violent repression against the civilian population in Syria and an oil embargo as well.

Russia and France Presidents meet

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Versailles for a meeting with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron. Relations between Russia and France have been stagnant since Crimea joined the Russian Federation in 2014, as most UN member states consider the peninsula to be Ukrainian territory.

The two leaders discussed a number of topics amid strained Russian-French bilateral relationship. A Russian spokesperson stated: "The issue of the war on terror will be at a very important place in the agenda of the negotiations". Vladimir Putin stressed the fact that the Kremlin is determined to address North Korea’s controversial missile programme on an international level, while it’s important not to let things deteriorate.

Trump tweets

United States President Donald Trump took to twitter to honour American service men on the Memorial Day, praising their bravery. Trump tweeted: "Honoring the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to America. Home of the free, because of the brave: Memorial Day’’.

Meanwhile, the US President also condemned last week’s Portland attack. The tweet said the violent attacks were unacceptable. In the attack, two men were stabbed to death and one was injured while trying to stop a white supremacist from yelling at a Muslim teenager. This is the Trump’s first comment on the attack; he might have felt the pressure build up on social media.

Disclaimer:

This article was issued by Rodrick Duca, Trader at Calamatta Cuschieri. For more information visit, www.cc.com.mt. The information, view and opinions provided in this article is being provided solely for educational and informational purposes and should not be construed as investment advice, advice concerning particular investments or investment decisions, or tax or legal advice. Calamatta Cuschieri Investment Services Ltd has not verified and consequently neither warrants the accuracy nor the veracity of any information, views or opinions appearing on this website.