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...
Oil prices ticked lower in Asian trading on Monday after weekly gains, as oversupply concerns persisted amid U.S.-Iran nuclear talks, while investors assessed Chinese factory data showing resilience despite the effect of U.S. tariffs. Investors were also cautious as the global ratings agency Moody's downgraded its investment grade rating on the U.S. As of 23:23 ET (03:23 GMT), Brent Oil Futures expiring in June inched 0.3% lower to $65.20 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures also fell 0.3% to $61.77 per barrel. Both contracts gained more than 1% last week, driven...
Silver price (XAG/USD) extends its losses for the second successive session, trading around $32.30 per troy ounce during the Asian hours on Monday. While silver prices have recently faced downward pressure, the downside may be limited due to rising demand for safe-haven assets, spurred by growing concerns over the US economic outlook and fiscal stability. Moody's has downgraded the US credit rating by one notch from Aaa to Aa1 citing surging debt levels and an increasing burden from interest payments. This follows similar downgrades by Fitch Ratings in 2023 and Standard & Poor's in...
Gold price (XAU/USD) attracts buyers during the Asian session on Monday as a surprise downgrade of the US government's credit rating tempers investors' appetite for riskier assets and boosts demand for traditional safe-haven assets. Furthermore, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's reaffirmation of President Donald Trump's tariff threats lends additional support to the bullion. Meanwhile, bets that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will cut interest rates further this year keep the US Dollar (USD) depressed and turn out to be another factor lending some support to the non-yielding yellow...
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) US Crude Oil prices struggle to capitalize on Friday's move higher and attract fresh sellers at the start of a new week. The commodity, however, recovers slightly from the Asian session low and currently trades around the $61.70-$61.65 region, still down nearly 0.40% for the day. The uncertainty over the outcome of Iran-US nuclear talks and rising tensions between Estonia and Russia, following the latter's detention of a Greek-owned oil tanker on Sunday, turned out to be key factors acting as a tailwind for the black liquid. In fact, US special envoy Steve...
The Japanese yen strengthened past 145 per dollar on Monday, marking its fifth consecutive session of gains, as the US dollar weakened following Moody's credit rating downgrade. On Friday, the agency lowered the US credit rating from Aaa to Aa1, citing a worsening fiscal outlook and "a lack of effective policy action" to address mounting deficits. Domestically, recent data showed that Japan's economy contracted in the first quarter of 2025, with GDP falling worse than market expectations and marking its first economic contraction in a year. Investors are now turning their attention to the...
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...