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...
Gold prices fell on Friday as investors booked profits from the previous session's record high, but were set for an eighth straight weekly gain, boosted by strong safe-haven demand amid concerns over U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff plans. Spot gold fell 0.1% to $2,935.75 an ounce. Bullion is up about 1.7% this week after rising to a record $2,954.69 on Thursday. U.S. gold futures fell 0.2% to $2,950.30. "It's just a classic move of new record highs and profit-taking… (but) the fundamentals of gold remain solid," said Alex Ebkarian, chief operating officer at Allegiance Gold. Gold...
Oil prices fell more than $2 a barrel on Friday, posting a weekly decline as investors grappled with fading Middle East risk premiums along with uncertainty about a potential peace deal in Ukraine. Brent crude futures fell $2.05, or 2.68%, to settle at $74.43 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell $2.08, or 2.87%, to settle at $70.40. Brent crude futures fell 0.4% for the week, while U.S. crude futures posted a weekly loss of 0.5%. "There's a risk-off sentiment here," said John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital in New York, who also cited relative calm in the Middle...
Silver (XAG/USD) prices faced selling pressure above the key $33.00 level during North American trading hours on Friday (21/2). The white metal declined as the US Dollar (USD) strengthened, with Federal Reserve (Fed) officials continuing to point to restrictive monetary policies. The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback against a basket of six major currencies, rose near 106.75. On Thursday, Fed Governor Adriana Kugler said that the central bank should keep lending rates "steady" for "some time," noting that the net effect of US President Donald Trump's new economic policies is...
Oil prices fell on Friday, but were on course to secure a weekly gain, as traders eyed supply chain disruptions in Russia and a drawdown in U.S. gasoline and distillate stockpiles. Brent oil futures had fallen by 0.8% to $75.86 per barrel as of 08:05 ET (13:05 GMT), while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures had slipped by 0.9% to $71.85 per barrel. Oil prices rose this week as the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), a major route for Kazakh oil exports, reduced flows by 30-40% after a Ukrainian drone hit Russia's Kropotkinskaya pumping station. Meanwhile, Russia escalated attacks...
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the performance of the US Dollar (USD) against six major currencies, pushes back on its recent decline and trades slightly below 107.00 at the time of writing on Friday. The Greenback claws back ahead of the United States (US) preliminary Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) data release for February. European data released earlier in the day already revealed a further slowdown in the economic activity in Europe. The US economic calendar finally offers some data releases that might move the Greenback. The preliminary S&P Global Services PMI for...
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...