LONDON – Oil prices tumbled over 2 percent on Monday after oil producing group OPEC+ agreed to accelerate oil production increases, while Taiwan’s dollar surged to almost three-year highs at the start of a central bank-packed week for world markets.
European shares held just below Friday’s one-month peaks, while US equity futures dipped, and overall trading was subdued by public holidays in Japan, China and Britain.
Brent crude and US West Texas crude futures fell more than a $1, each after a weekend decision by OPEC to further speed up oil output hikes fueled concern about more supply coming into a market clouded by an uncertain demand outlook.
Meetings of the US Federal Reserve and Bank of England later in the week were in focus as markets wait to see how major central banks assess the outlook for growth and inflation following heightened uncertainty unleashed by US tariff policy.
President Donald Trump said on Sunday the United States was meeting with many countries, including China, on trade deals, and his main priority with China was to secure a fair deal.
Optimism around a potential de-escalation of trade tensions between the US and China has boosted markets in recent days, with European shares trading just below levels seen before Trump’s April 2 major tariff announcement roiled markets.
“Given the strength of the recovery there is downside risk to markets if positive expectations on trade agreements are not realized,” said Nordea’s chief market strategist Jan von Gerich.
Europe’s broad STOXX 600 index is up 15 percent from lows hit last month, while the S&P 500 stock index has rebounded around 17 percent from more than one-year lows hit last month.
In currency markets, it was the Taiwan dollar that hogged the spotlight after a second straight session of sharp gains against the US currency.
The Taiwan dollar was poised for its biggest single-day gain against the US dollar since the 1980s, rising to as high as 29.59 per US dollar. It was last trading at 30.04.
Its 3 percent surge on Monday has stoked speculation of a revaluation of Asian currencies to win US trade concessions and underscores a broader re-rating of the region’s economic prospects.
