Oil prices climbed more than 1% on Wednesday, extending the prior day's gains, as investors weighed a fresh round of U.S. sanctions on Iran, a drop in U.S. crude stocks and a softer tone from President Donald Trump towards the Federal Reserve. Brent crude futures climbed $1, or 1.5%, to $68.44 a barrel at 0640 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 99 cents, or 1.6%, at $64.66 a barrel. The U.S. issued new sanctions targeting Iranian liquefied petroleum gas and crude oil shipping magnate Seyed Asadoollah Emamjomeh and his corporate network on Tuesday. Emamjomeh's network is...
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the performance of the US Dollar (USD) against six major currencies, trades broadly flat near 99.20 at the time of writing on Wednesday after an earlier attempt to test the 100.00 big figure in early Asian trading. The pop in the DXY came on the back of comments from United States (US) President Donald Trump late Tuesday, saying that he had no intention of firing Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell, despite being frustrated with the high interest rates. The President also said he would be ‘nice' to China if they come to the negotiating table,...
Oil turned lower after Kazakhstan said it will prioritize national interests over those of the OPEC+ alliance, a move that risks fueling further tensions within the cartel. Brent futures were earlier up 1.8% before erasing that gain. Kazakhstan's newly appointed energy minister said the country is not able to reduce production at its three largest projects as they are controlled by international oil majors, Reuters reported. Earlier this month the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies unexpectedly announced plans to hike output at three...