West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the US crude oil benchmark, is trading around $69.30 on Wednesday. The WTI price trades flat after Ukraine used US ATACMS missiles to strike Russian territory for the first time. On Tuesday, Russia's defense ministry said that Ukraine hit a facility in the Bryansk region with six ATACAMS missiles. In response, Russian President Vladimir Putin lowered the threshold for a possible nuclear strike. The rising geopolitical tensions could boost the WTI price for the time being. "This marks a renewed build up in tensions in the Russia-Ukraine war and brings back into...
Gold price (XAU/USD) attracts some follow-through buying for the third consecutive day on Wednesday and climbs to a one-and-half-week high, around the $2,641-2,642 region during the Asian session. Mounting Russia-Ukraine tensions continue to boost demand for traditional safe-haven assets, which, along with subdued US Dollar (USD) price action, act as a tailwind for the precious metal. That said, the overnight comments from Russian and US officials helped ease market concerns about the onset of a full-blown nuclear war, which is evident from a generally positive tone around the equity...
The Australian dollar climbed above $0.653 on Wednesday, marking its fourth straight session of gains, supported by a weaker US dollar and a hawkish outlook on Reserve Bank of Australia policy. The greenback ran into some profit-taking in recent sessions following a strong rally, while investors awaited news on US President-elect Donald Trump's pick for Treasury Secretary. On the domestic front, minutes from the RBA's November policy meeting indicated that the central bank intends to maintain a restrictive monetary policy until it is confident that inflation is sustainably moving toward its...