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...
Silver price (XAG/USD) edges higher after registering losses in the previous two successive sessions, trading around $34.50 per troy ounce during the Asian hours on Thursday. Prices of the precious metals, including Silver, receive support from safe-haven flows amid growing global economic and political uncertainty. The non-yielding assets like Silver receive support after the release of soft economic data from the United States (US), which reinforced the odds of the Federal Reserve (Fed) reducing interest rates at least twice in 2025. Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) Services...
The Japanese yen held firm around 142.9 on Thursday, after gaining nearly 1% in the previous session, supported by broad dollar weakness following disappointing US economic data. Recent indicators showed a sharp slowdown in private-sector hiring and an unexpected contraction in the US services sector, stoking fears that trade policy uncertainty is beginning to weigh on the broader economy. Domestically, data revealed a fourth consecutive decline in real wages in April, as inflation continued to outpace nominal wage growth. This deepens concerns over Japan's economic outlook, especially as...
The Australian dollar held its recent gains around $0.649 on Thursday, as a weaker US dollar and an uptick in China's services PMI outweighed a decline in domestic trade balance. The greenback remained under pressure amid soft US economic data, with traders awaiting trade and jobless claims figures later in the day. The Aussie found further support after China's Caixin Services PMI, a key indicator from its largest trading partner, rose to 51.1 in May from 50.7 in April, signaling continued expansion. Meanwhile, Australia's trade surplus narrowed to AUD 5.41 billion in April, below...
Brent crude oil futures traded below $65 per barrel on Thursday, holding losses from the previous session amid rising concerns over a global oil oversupply. Key oil producer Saudi Arabia is pushing for a significant increase in OPEC+ output at least 411,000 barrels per day in August, and possibly in September in a bid to capture market share during peak summer demand. The kingdom also cut its July crude prices for Asian buyers to near four-year lows, signaling softer demand from the region. While official US data showed a decline in crude inventories, gasoline and distillate stockpiles...
The US dollar index remained under pressure below 99 on Thursday, as investors awaited fresh labor market data that could shape expectations for future Federal Reserve policy moves. Markets are focused on Thursday's weekly jobless claims and Friday's closely watched nonfarm payrolls report. The greenback came under renewed selling pressure on Wednesday after a string of disappointing economic indicators raised concerns about the strength of the US economy. Notably, the ADP employment report showed the private sector added just 37K jobs in May—well below forecasts and marking the weakest...
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...