After yesterdays FOMC minutes reports, European markets opened higher in the morning. Minutes, widely expected by market participants, brought more dovish tone sending main European bourses above yesterdays close. Today, however, the story of the day is OPEC and non-OPEC members meeting in Vienna. On latest reports, according to Bloomberg, OPEC agrees to extend production cuts for 9 months.

In a document released yesterday by FOMC, a rate hike in June is almost a done deal. If everything goes as expected the central bank will raise rates on its next meeting. However, the overall tone of the document is mixed for the dollar. The most important part is that rates could go up soon, but FOMC voters would like to see a confirmation in data. The document also states that members noted a slower progress on the inflation front.

Today the OPEC and non-OPEC members meeting have started in Vienna. While we are still waiting for a final decision from the OPEC, it seems that an above the consensus deal becomes highly unlikely. The OPEC members suggested that a 9-months extension was the way to go yesterday and today ministers from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia signaled that deeper cuts were unnecessary. We would like to encourage you to read our post about how to trade the OPEC meeting here.

 Today most of the European bourses are trading in the positive territory after yesterdays record highs on S&P 500 during US session.

The U.K. economy slowed more sharply than initially estimated in the first quarter as consumers flagged and trade dragged on growth. Gross domestic product rose 0.2 percent, less than the 0.3 percent published late last month and down from 0.7 percent at the end of 2016.