Crude oil prices were steady on Friday but set for weekly declines as markets waited to see if U.S. President Donald Trump would follow through on his threat to impose tariffs on Mexico and Canada later this week. Brent crude for March, which expires on Friday, was up 8 cents at $76.95 a barrel by 0900 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 21 cents at $72.94. For the week, benchmarks Brent and WTI are set to fall 2% and 2.3%, respectively. "Crude oil prices have fallen this week on growing concerns about Trump's tariffs, which are expected to hamper global economic growth,"...
The euro (EUR) is trading under pressure amid broadly stronger US dollar (USD) on tariff threats. Yesterday at the last GC meeting, the ECB cut its policy rate for the fifth consecutive meeting by 25bp. The currency pair was last at 1.0370, noted FX analysts Frances Cheung and Christopher Wong of OCBC. "The deposit rate is now at 2.75%. The decision was unanimous and the Council did not discuss the possibility of a larger cut. Lagarde said that interest rates are still in restrictive territory, and it is too early to discuss when the ECB should stop cutting rates. According to a Reuters...
Silver (XAG/USD) prices recovered most of their intraday losses and rebounded near $30.50 during the European session on Friday (1/31). The white metal bounced back strongly as its outlook remained strong amid concerns that US President Donald Trump will impose 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico on Saturday for allowing illegal immigrants and the deadly opioid fentanyl into their economies. Such a scenario could lead to a trade war, increasing geopolitical uncertainty, which is beneficial for precious metals, such as Silver. Donald Trump has also threatened to impose 100% tariffs on the BRICS...
Gold prices were mostly steady in Asian trading on Friday, but hit a record high after surging in the previous session amid uncertainty over U.S. tariffs, while investors cautiously awaited a key U.S. inflation report. Spot gold was mostly unchanged after hitting a record high of $2,799.60 an ounce, while February gold futures edged up 0.1% to $2,793.74 an ounce by 1:55 p.m. ET (06:55 GMT). The recent escalation of U.S. trade policy under President Donald Trump has raised considerable uncertainty in global markets. His announcement of high tariffs on imports from the BRICS nations—Brazil,...
The dollar strengthened against a basket of currencies, recovering slightly after the previous day's drop following weak U.S. gross domestic product data. Markets turned cautious ahead of a possible announcement by President Trump on tariffs, particularly against Canada and Mexico, which drew some safe-haven demand for the U.S. currency. "Tariff news from the Trump administration continues to take center stage," said analysts at Danske Bank. December U.S. PCE inflation data -- the Fed's preferred inflation measure -- and the fourth-quarter U.S. employment cost index, both due at 1330 GMT,...
