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Oil prices dropped during early trade on Tuesday: Brent crude futures dropped 0.5% while West Texas Intermediate crude futures dropped 0.7%. The fall was largely driven by concerns over slowing demand in top importer China amid the ongoing COVID-19 crisis as well as the rare street protests seen throughout the week. Losses were limited however, as some investors expect that OPEC+ may cut production following its meeting on Sunday 4th December.

UK house prices saw their biggest monthly fall for over 2 years in November, says Nationwide. Prices fell 1.4% from October, as sharply rising interest rates act as a deterrent for buyers. The lender believes the housing market will remain ‘’subdued’ over the coming months, echoing the OBR’s sentiments that affordability issues will compress demand over the near future.

Markets soared following the Fed’s Powell’s statement that it ‘makes sense’ to slow down to assess the impact of the recent interest rate moves. It typically takes months for the impact of interest rate moves to be fully absorbed, and the ‘full effects of our rapid tightening are yet to be felt’ said Powell. The S&P 500 rose 3%, the Nasdaq climbed 4.4% and the Dow Jones jumped more than 2%. The dollar fell, while other global exchanges also rallied following the news.