West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the US crude oil benchmark, is trading around $72.85 during the early Asian session on Friday. The WTI price edges higher as traders assess the impact of threatened US tariffs on Canadian and Mexican crude imports that could take effect on Saturday. US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose a 25% tariff as early as Saturday on imports from Canada and Mexico, but he has not yet decided whether to include oil imports in the measure. The White House said late Wednesday that both countries can avoid this if they act swiftly to close their borders to...
Oil prices edged up on Thursday, held in check by threatened U.S. tariffs on Canadian and Mexican crude imports that could take effect this weekend. Brent crude futures settled 29 cents, or 0.4%, higher at $76.87 a barrel. U.S. crude futures finished at $72.73 a barrel, up 11 cents, or 0.2% higher than Wednesday, when they settled at their lowest level this year so far. "We're getting close to the deadline and people are getting nervous," said Phil Flynn, senior analyst with Price Futures Group. U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to impose a 25% tariff as early as Saturday on...
USD/CHF steadies after two consecutive days of gains, trading around 0.9070 during the Asian session on Thursday. This decline is mainly attributed to a weaker US Dollar (USD). The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback against six major currencies, hovers slightly below the 108.00 mark at the time of writing. Traders are awaiting the release of the US fourth-quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth data, scheduled for Thursday. The market consensus expects a slowdown in annualized GDP growth, with a forecast of 2.6%, down from the previous 3.1%. Inflationary concerns persist,...
XAU/USD trades dangerously close to its record high in the $2,790 region as the latest macroeconomic developments put pressure on the US Dollar (USD). Ahead of Wall Street's opening, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced its decision on monetary policy. The ECB lowered key rates by 25 basis points (bps) each, as expected. With this decision, the interest rate on the main refinancing operations and the interest rates on the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility stood at 2.9%, 3.15% and 2.75%, respectively. The accompanying statement and the subsequent President Christine...
The USD/JPY pair dipped near 154.30 during the European session on Thursday (1/30). The asset weakened as the Japanese Yen (JPY) performed strongly across the board amid growing expectations that the Bank of Japan (BOJ) will continue to raise interest rates this year. BoJ hawkish bets have been rising on the assumption that Japan's spring wage negotiations will result in another strong hike this year. On Thursday, BOJ Deputy Governor Ryozo Himino also said that the central bank "will raise interest rates if the economy and prices move in line with expectations." Meanwhile, the US Dollar...
