Oil prices climbed about 1% to a two-week high on Friday as the intensifying war in Ukraine this week boosted the market's geopolitical risk premium. Brent futures rose 94 cents, or 1.3%, to settle at $75.17 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $1.14, or 1.6%, to settle at $71.24. Both crude benchmarks were up about 6% for the week, their highest settlements since Nov. 7 as Moscow stepped up its Ukraine offensive after Britain and the U.S. allowed Kyiv to strike deeper into Russia with their missiles. "The Russia-Ukraine escalation has raised geopolitical tensions...
The AUD/USD pair attracted some buyers near 0.6540 during the early Asian session on Monday (11/25). The US Dollar Index (DXY) eased slightly after hitting a fresh two-year high despite strong S&P US Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) data. On Monday, the US Chicago Fed National Activity Index for October and the Dallas Fed Manufacturing Business Index for November will be released. Upbeat US November PMIs failed to boost the greenback. Data released by S&P Global showed on Friday that the S&P US Global Composite PMI rose to 55.3 in the flash estimate for November from 54.1 in...
Gold is steady after surging the most in 20 months last week as the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine war boosted demand for safe haven assets. Bullion was trading near $2,720 an ounce after surging 6% last week as the conflict entered a dangerous new phase. President Vladimir Putin said his forces may use new missiles again after targeting Ukraine in retaliation for Kyiv's use of American and British-made weapons on Russian territory. Former Ukrainian military chief Gen. Valery Zaluzhny said European countries are not ready for a prolonged military confrontation with Russia. The reason,...