Oil steadied after a modest decline on Tuesday as expectations of a supply glut and a trade war between the world's two largest economies weighed on the demand outlook. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were trading above $61 a barrel, with Brent crude closing near $65 in the previous session. The International Energy Agency on Tuesday cut its forecast for global oil consumption this year and next as trade tensions escalated. The supply build is likely to be more than enough to meet consumption, it said in a monthly report. Crude prices remain near four-year lows, after a sharp drop...
The Japanese Yen (JPY) regained some ground after a modest decline the previous day as trade-related uncertainties kept investors on the sidelines and continued to favor traditional safe-haven assets. Additionally, data released today showed that Japan's core machine orders rose sharply in February, beating market expectations. This, coupled with hopes that Japan will reach a trade deal with the US and growing acceptance that the Bank of Japan (BOJ) will continue to raise interest rates in 2025, turned out to be another factor supporting the JPY. Meanwhile, the hawkish BOJ expectations...
The GBP/USD pair continued its uptrend that began on April 8, trading around 1.3250 during the Asian session on Wednesday (4/16). Earlier in the day, the pair touched a fresh six-month high of 1.3256. The pair has maintained its strong momentum, boosted by improving global risk sentiment after US President Donald Trump announced exemptions for major technology products from his new "reciprocal" tariffs. In the UK, labor market data showed on Tuesday that the unemployment rate held steady at 4.4% in February, in line with expectations. However, wage growth remained strong, maintaining...