The dollar headed for a weekly gain on most major peers on Friday as a U.S.-UK trade deal raised hopes of progress in looming U.S.-China talks, while bets of imminent Fed rate cuts receded after the central bank indicated it was in no hurry. Financial markets are heading into the weekend with the focus squarely on trade negotiations between Washington and Beijing due to begin on Saturday in Switzerland. The euro touched a one-month low of $1.1197 in Asia and was down about 0.6% for the week. The yen has weakened about 0.4% this week and hit a one-month trough of 146.18 per dollar, before...
Oil prices rose on Friday, after rising about 3% in the previous session, as trade tensions between top oil consumers the U.S. and China showed signs of easing and Britain announced a "breakthrough" trade deal with the United States. Brent crude rose 43 cents, or 0.68%, to $63.27 a barrel while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 42 cents, or 0.7%, to $60.33 a barrel by 0731 GMT. Both contracts closed up nearly 3% on Thursday. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will meet China's top economic official, Vice Premier He Lifeng, in Switzerland on May 10 to try to resolve a trade dispute...
Gold (XAU/USD) prices turned positive after an intraday dip to $3,275-3,274 region as geopolitical risks emanating from the Russia-Ukraine war, rising tensions in the Middle East, and the India-Pakistan border revived safe-haven demand. Additionally, a modest US Dollar (USD) pullback from near one-month highs touched on Friday turned out to be another factor that acted as a tailwind for the commodity. With the intraday move higher, the XAU/USD pair, for now, seems to have snapped two consecutive days of losing streak, though its upside potential seems limited. The optimism led by the US-UK...