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) is ticking lower against its American counterpart during the Asian session on Thursday, though it remains close to the highest level since October 2024 touched earlier this week. Bank of Japan (BoJ) Governor Kazuo Ueda's comments last week about potentially increasing regular bond buying led to a further decline in the Japanese government (JGB) bond yields. Apart from this, concerns over US President Donald Trump's tariff plans and a positive risk tone turn out to be key factors undermining the JPY. Any meaningful JPY depreciation, however, still seems elusive in the...
The Australian Dollar (AUD) holds gains against the US Dollar (USD) on Thursday. The AUD/USD pair edges higher despite disappointing Australian Private Capital Expenditure data, which unexpectedly contracted by 0.2% quarter-on-quarter in Q4 2024, missing market forecasts of 0.8% growth. This follows an upwardly revised 1.6% expansion in the previous quarter. Reserve Bank of Australia Deputy Governor Andrew Hauser said on Thursday that he expects more positive news on inflation but emphasized the importance of seeing this progress materialize first. He noted that the tightness in Australia's...
Oil prices edged up from two-month lows on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a reversal of a license given to Chevron (NYSE:CVX) to operate in Venezuela, potentially tightening crude supply. Brent crude oil futures rose 19 cents or 0.3% to $72.72 a barrel by 0154 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures were up 16 cents or 0.2% at $68.78 per barrel. Both benchmarks on Wednesday settled at their lowest since December 10 due to a surprise build in U.S. fuel inventories that hinted at weakening demand and hopes for a potential peace deal between Russia and...
EUR/USD pulled back on Wednesday, shedding around one-quarter of one percent after US President Donald Trump insisted that tariffs are coming for the European Union too, not just Canada and Mexico.The group of nations not facing tariff threats from the White House is rapidly diminishing. Should a full-scale trade war unfold, the Euro has now been added to the list of vulnerable currencies that may experience increased volatility due to shifting risk sentiment, as investors struggle to keep pace with the frequent updates emanating from the White House. This week, UK data is relatively...
The U.S. dollar firmed in early Asian hours on Thursday as Treasury yields ticked higher while investors assessed the outlook for tariffs and the economy under President Donald Trump.Asian stocks were mixed with tech shares around the region getting little steer from heavyweight U.S. chipmaker and AI darling Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA)'s earnings overnight.Cryptocurrency bitcoin languished below $85,000, while safe-haven gold was steady some $40 below its record high as trade war worries kept market sentiment fragile.Trump clouded the outlook for looming levies on top trading partners Canada and...
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...