Renewed tensions between the United States and Russia have resurfaced following an incident involving an oil tanker, sparking market concerns about potential disruptions to global energy supplies. Washington's move, associated with tightening oversight and enforcement of sanctions on Russian oil shipments, is viewed by Moscow as provocative and could worsen relations between the two countries. Russia views these actions as an attempt by the United States to suppress Russian energy exports and strengthen its dominance in the global oil market. Meanwhile, Washington argues that these measures...
Gold prices were flat in Asian trade on Wednesday as investors refrained from placing big bets ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy decision, while also monitoring developments surrounding the Israel-Iran conflict. Spot gold was flat at $3,388.04 an ounce, as of 0341 GMT. U.S. gold futures were largely unchanged at $3,406.50. "Gold prices fluctuated as investors tracked escalating risks in the Middle East. Lackluster U.S. reports on retail sales, housing and industrial production strengthened the case for the Fed to cut interest rates later this year," analysts at ANZ said in a...
Silver (XAG/USD) is seen consolidating the previous day's strong gains to the highest level since February 2012 and oscillated in a narrow range during the Asian session on Wednesday (6/18). The white metal is currently trading just above the $37.00 round-figure mark and seems poised to extend its recent uptrend from April monthly swing lows. From a technical perspective, the overnight breakout through a short-term descending trend-channel, which constitutes the formation of a bullish flag pattern, and the subsequent up-move validates the constructive outlook. However, a slightly overbought...
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the US Dollar (USD) against a basket of six major currencies, retraced its recent gains and traded around 98.70 during Asian hours on Wednesday (6/18). Markets expect the US Federal Reserve (Fed) to keep interest rates unchanged at its June meeting scheduled for Wednesday. Traders now see a near 80% chance of a Fed rate cut in September, followed by another cut in October, according to Reuters. Traders are likely to closely monitor the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) statement on monetary policy, looking for direction going forward amid...
The Japanese Yen (JPY) remained weaker against its US counterpart for the fourth straight day and retested its monthly low during the Asian session on Wednesday (6/18). The Bank of Japan (BOJ) signaled a cautious approach to winding down its decade-long monetary stimulus amid uncertain economic growth. This forced investors to push back their expectations about the likely timing of the next BOJ rate hike to Q1 2026, which in turn, was seen weakening the JPY. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba failed to reach a tariff breakthrough at the G7...
Oil prices rose after surging to their highest in nearly five months on Tuesday, as President Donald Trump stoked speculation that the U.S. might join an attack on Iran, raising concerns about a disruption to Middle East supplies. West Texas Intermediate crude rose as much as 1.1% to trade above $75 a barrel earlier. Brent crude settled near $76 in the previous session. Trump met with his national security team on Tuesday, demanding Iran's "UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER" and warning of a possible attack on the OPEC producer leader ahead of the meeting in a social media post. So far, Iran's crude...
Asian stock markets fell in unison on Thursday, following Wall Street's decline. A brief rally in tech stocks led by Nvidia quickly faded, prompting investors to turn away from riskier assets like...
European stock indices closed marginally lower on Wednesday as equities took a breather from their recent strong momentum, while investors continued to assess the outlook for the ECB's policy this...
The upcoming Supreme Court ruling on the legality of President Donald Trump's massive tariffs, which rocked markets in April, is one of the next major tests for US stocks and bonds.
Equity markets...