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...
The Japanese Yen (JPY) maintained its bid tone through the first half of the European session on Thursday (3/20) amid bets that the Bank of Japan (BoJ) will continue to raise interest rates this year, as strong wage growth could boost consumer spending. This, in turn, could contribute to a pickup in inflation and give the BoJ some room to tighten its policy further. The resulting narrowing of interest rate differentials between Japan and its peers continued to support the lower-yielding JPY. Furthermore, uncertainty over US President Donald Trump's trade policies and geopolitical risks...
Gold prices rose to record highs in Asian trade on Thursday, benefiting from a softer dollar as the Federal Reserve still signaled at least two more interest rate cuts this year. The yellow metal extended a run of recent gains, as it continued to benefit from heightened safe haven demand due to the collapse of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, sluggish Russia-Ukraine peace negotiations, and increased uncertainty over the U.S. economy under President Donald Trump. Spot gold rose 0.2% to a record high of $2,057.36 an ounce, while gold futures expiring in April hit a peak of $3,065.09 an...
Gold hovered around $3,050 per ounce on Thursday, a fresh record, supported by rising US rate cut expectations and strong safe-haven demand. The Federal Reserve noted increased economic uncertainty but still expects to cut rates by 50 bps this year, matching its December projection and boosting non-yielding gold. Meanwhile, tensions in the Middle East escalated as Israel launched "targeted ground activities" in Gaza, retaking part of a key area after an airstrike ended a two-month ceasefire with Hamas. The US also kept striking Houthi targets in Yemen after Red Sea attacks, with Trump...
West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the US crude oil benchmark, is trading around $67.20 during the early Asian session on Thursday. The WTI price edges higher amid the ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. However, the Federal Reserve's (Fed) decision to hold interest rates steady might cap the upside for WTI price. The Israeli military resumed ground operations in the central and southern Gaza Strip. US President Donald Trump threatened to continue his country's attack on Yemen's Houthis and said he would hold Iran responsible for any attacks carried out by the group that has...
The Australian Dollar depreciated as Employment Change declined by 52.8K in February, missing the consensus forecast of a 30.0K increase. The PBOC kept its Loan Prime Rates (LPRs) unchanged, with the one- and five-year rates at 3.10% and 3.60%, respectively. The Fed reaffirmed its expectation of two rate cuts later this year but highlighted uncertainty arising from Trump's tariff policies. The Australian Dollar (AUD) weakens against the US Dollar (USD) on Thursday, reversing gains from the previous session. The AUD/USD pair declines as the AUD receives downward pressure following 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...