Oil Corrected, Dollar Strengthened While Proposed Stimulus Package Still Uncertain

Oil prices remained diversified on Tuesday as U.S. light crude oil (WTI) fell -0.26 percent to $45.48 for the January Nymex contract while the January delivery Brent contract advanced 0.10 percent to $48.84.

With increasing hopes of a new economic stimulus package in the US likely to be approved this month, the dollar index that measures its evolution against a basket of six currencies including euro, pound sterling, yen, Swiss franc, Canadian dollar and Swedish krona, rose by 0.20 percent to 90.97 points. Dollar strengthened its position against Euro which dropped by -0.07 percent to $1.2113. The yield on the 10-year T-Bond dropped 2 basis points to 0.9130 percent on the U.S. government bond market.

In Washington, meanwhile, speculation persists over the latest $908 billion support package, tabled by a bipartisan group of Democratic and Republican senators last week. The bill is sponsored by Nancy Pelosi, the House Democratic leader, and Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader. Republican Senate Chairman Mitch McConnell, however, is still being asked, and continues to defend his own $500 billion minimalist proposal.

However after revealing a planned evening meeting between Republican congressional leaders and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, as well as Staff Chief Mark Meadows of the White House, hopes returned Tuesday.

Several services to aid Americans in the face of the coronavirus epidemic will end on December 31, especially depriving 12 million people of unemployment insurance and there is no consent on a new assistance package before the end of parliament which theoretically will end on December 18. So a failure to approve the stimulus package before that date would delay the introduction of a new package by at least a month, which would be presented to the new Congress in January but is not expected to pass legislation until the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden is scheduled for January 20.