The Hang Seng climbed 226 points or 0.9% to end at 24,733 on Monday, snapping a four-session dip as all sectors gained. Traders looked ahead to developments on the U.S.-China trade truce, set to expire on August 12. Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent said Washington is optimistic about reaching a deal with China, following recent trade talks in Stockholm. Separately, China's top leaders pledged to support the economy and rein in "disorderly competition" during last week's Politburo meeting. Beijing also confirmed its fourth plenum will be held in October, likely focusing on the next...
West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the US crude benchmark, was trading around $77.25 on Tuesday (14/1). WTI prices rose to their highest since Oct. 8 as US sanctions on Russian oil threatened to tighten global supplies. The US administration of President Joe Biden has imposed new sanctions on Russian oil giants Gazprom and Surgutneftegaz, as well as 183 oil tankers, often referred to as Russia's ‘Shadow Fleet'. Growing concerns over supply disruptions could support the black gold in the near term. "Supply is the key near-term driver, with Biden's new sanctions on Russia's two major oil...
EUR/USD continued to explore the bearish side of the chart on Monday (14/1), dropping to the 1.0200 level for the first time since late 2022, carving a fresh 26-month low before staging a half-hearted recovery later in the day. European economic data remained sluggish throughout the trading week. The European Central Bank (ECB) is set to continue lowering interest rates, further widening the euro's interest rate differential against the US dollar. Final pan-EUR and German inflation figures due mid-week are not expected to deviate significantly from the preliminary figures. The US Producer...
Gold prices fell during the North American session as traders seeking safety bought the greenback as US Treasury yields rose to their highest level since November 2023. At the time of writing, XAU/USD was trading at $2,657 after failing to break through $2,700, down 1.20%. A thin economic data on Monday left investors digesting the latest US Nonfarm Payrolls figures for December. While the economy performed better than expected, with the figure rising by 256K beating estimates of 160K and 212K in November, traders are eyeing the release of US inflation data. On Wednesday, the Consumer...
Gold prices dipped on Monday as the U.S. dollar soared to an over two-year high after a robust jobs report last week cemented expectations the Federal Reserve will proceed with caution with cutting interest rates this year. Spot gold fell 1% to $2,661.76 per ounce as of 03:57 p.m. ET (2057 GMT). Prices hit their highest in a month on Friday. U.S. gold futures settled 1.3% lower at $2,678.60. The dollar index (.DXY), rose to its highest since November 2022 after the U.S. jobs report underscored the strength of the economy and muddied the Fed outlook. A higher dollar makes bullion more...
Oil prices climbed about 2% to a four-month high on Monday on expectations that wider U.S. sanctions on Russian oil would force buyers in India and China to seek other suppliers. Brent futures rose $1.25, or 1.6%, to settle at $81.01 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $2.25, or 2.9%, to settle at $78.82. That put Brent on track for its highest close since Aug. 26 and WTI on track for its highest close since Aug. 12, and kept both benchmarks in technically overbought territory for a second day in a row. Moreover, with Brent and WTI front-month prices rising over...