The US stock markets lagged behind on Wednesday. The Dow was calculated at around 44,369 points at the close of trading in New York, a decline of 0.5 percent compared to the previous trading day.
Just minutes earlier, the broader S&P 500 had been calculated at around 6,050 points, a decline of 0.3 percent, while the Nasdaq 100, which tracks the technology-heavy Nasdaq, was calculated at around 21,719 points, a gain of 0.1 percent.
Following the release of the US inflation rate for January, which showed a 3.0 percent increase over the previous year and a 3.3 percent increase in the so-called core inflation, US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell appeared relaxed. He would say that the country is close to, but not yet at, its inflation target, Powell explained before a US House of Representatives committee. Powell had already said the day before that there was no hurry to adjust monetary policy.
The European common currency was stronger on Wednesday evening: one euro cost 1.0397 US dollars and one US dollar was worth 0.9618 euros.
The gold price rose slightly, with one fine ounce being sold for $2,900 in the evening, a gain of 0.1 percent, or 89.68 euros per gram.
Oil prices, on the other hand, plummeted: a barrel of Brent North Sea crude cost around $75.12 at 9 pm German time on Wednesday, a decline of 188 cents or 2.4 percent from the close of the previous trading day.