Weekly news summary for May 20 to May 26

Friday, May 20: OpenSea Introduces Seaport ​​Protocol for NFTs

OpenSea on Friday introduced Seaport, a new Web3 marketplace protocol that would allow nonfungible token (NFT) holders to buy and sell NFTs safely and efficiently.

In addition to the Ether, OpenSea said Seaport would let users own NFTs through other assets, including ERC20 and ERC721, which suggests making a barter between different tokens as a mode of payment.

Monday, May 23: Euro Extends Gains on Lagarde’s Hawkish Comments

The euro rose to a 4-week high on Monday, pushing the US dollar further into retracement, after European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said the Governing Council might start hiking interest rates in July and leave the sub-zero area by September.

The announcement drove the euro up 1.2% to $1.07, its highest since April 26, with options traders now expecting the euro to continue increasing to reach $1.10.

Tuesday, May 24: Snap Drops 43% After Profit, Revenue Warning

Shares of Snap Inc. dropped 43% on Tuesday, leading other social media and digital ad stocks in the red after the company warned investors about not being able to meet its profit and revenue targets in the current quarter due to several macroeconomic issues.

Snap recorded its largest intraday decline since its public listing in March 2017 of $13.55, resulting in a 9.6% decline in Meta Platforms Inc. and a 3.9% loss in WPP Plc, while social media stocks overall were on track to lose over $100 billion in market value following Snap’s warning.

Wednesday, May 25: Oil Up as US Gas Supplies Hit 8-Year Seasonal Low

The US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 1.4% to $111.31 per barrel, while Brent crude gained 1.2% to $112.04 per barrel on Wednesday after data from the American Petroleum Institute (API) signaled that US oil demand remained robust despite gasoline prices standing at record highs.

The API reported that crude supplies were up 600,000 barrels in the previous week, while gasoline supplies hit an 8-year seasonal low at a time when peak gasoline demand is taking effect.

Thursday, May 26: Gold Slips as US Dollar Rises After Fed Minutes

Gold prices edged lower on Thursday as the US dollar strengthened, with a few market players selling after minutes of the Federal Reserve policy meeting implied that the central bank could be sticking to raising interest rates.

Spot gold slipped 0.5% to $1,844 per ounce as a more stable greenback weighed on demand for the dollar-priced bullion for buyers utilizing other currencies, while US gold futures retreated by 0.2% to $1,843.