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...
EUR/USD recovered from previous session's losses, trading near 1.1190 during the Asian session on Monday (05/19). The pair strengthened as the US dollar came under pressure following Moody's downgrade of the US credit rating by one notch from Aaa to Aa1 on the grounds of rising debt levels and rising interest payments. Moody's follows previous downgrades by Fitch Ratings in 2023 and Standard & Poor's in 2011. Moody's now projects US federal debt to reach around 134% of GDP in 2035, up from 98% in 2023, while the federal deficit is expected to widen to nearly 9% of GDP, driven by higher...
The AUD/USD pair kicked off the new week on a subdued note and consolidated just above the 0.6400 round-figure mark during the Asian session (19/05). Moreover, the spot prices remained confined within a familiar range for the past month or so as traders await fresh catalysts before positioning for the next leg of the directional move. Meanwhile, Monday's China macro data could provide some impetus to the AUD/USD pair and allow traders to grab short-term opportunities. However, the immediate market reaction is likely to be limited as the focus remains on the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA)...
Gold rallied after its biggest weekly drop in six months, with safe-haven demand boosted by growing concerns about the US economic outlook and budget deficit. Bullion rose as much as 1.3% to around $3,245 an ounce in early Asian trade. That came after Moody's Ratings announced late Friday that it had downgraded the US government's main credit rating to Aa1 from Aaa. The agency blamed the inability of successive administrations to cut budget deficits. "While we acknowledge the significant strength of the US economy and finances, we believe this no longer fully offsets the deterioration in...
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is trading around $62 on Friday ahead of the weekend, staging a modest rebound after snapping a two-day losing streak. The US Oil found renewed buying interest following a retest of the $55 support zone, where a potential double-bottom structure has formed on the daily chart. While the short-term technical picture has improved, macroeconomic and geopolitical headwinds, especially surrounding rising Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC+) output and the potential return of Iranian barrels, continue to weigh on sentiment. OPEC+ supply...
The dollar rose on Friday after the latest round of economic data showed a jump in import prices while consumer sentiment remained subdued, putting it on pace for a fourth straight weekly advance. The Labor Department said import prices gained 0.1% last month after dropping 0.4% in March as a jump in the cost of capital goods outweighed cheaper energy prices. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast import prices, which exclude tariffs, would decrease 0.4%. The dollar began to strengthen after a separate reading from the University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers showed its Consumer...
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...