Gold prices held steady on Wednesday as stronger U.S. jobs data countered safe-haven demand driven by simmering trade tensions between the U.S. and China. Spot gold was steady at $3,349.19 an ounce, as of 1145 GMT. U.S. gold futures were unchanged at $3,373.10. "U.S. labor data gave markets a bit of relief yesterday, causing a small dip in gold prices. However, tensions between the U.S. and China are still keeping risks high and gold prices supported," said Zain Vawda, market analyst at MarketPulse by OANDA. Job openings in the U.S. rose in April, though layoffs surged to their highest...
Oil prices held steady on Wednesday amid global trade tensions and as ongoing OPEC+ output increases were offset by a hit to Canadian supply from wildfires. Brent crude futures inched 6 cents higher, or 0.1%, to $65.69 a barrel by 1203 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was 8 cents higher, also around 0.1%, at $63.49. Plans by OPEC+ producers to again increase output by 411,000 barrels per day (bpd) in July were weighing on the market, said Janiv Shah, vice president of oil commodity markets analysis at Rystad Energy. Yet there was some support as wildfires reduced Canada's...
Falling demand for U.S. dollar-denominated assets will push the greenback lower in coming months, according to FX strategists surveyed by Reuters, as concerns mount about the U.S. federal deficit and debt. U.S. President Donald Trump's erratic tariff policies, along with the House of Representatives recently passing a tax-cut and spending bill that would add $3.3 trillion to an already-enormous $36.2 trillion debt pile, have many investors worried. Long-term bond yields have soared on a rising 'term premium' – compensation for holding longer-duration debt – leading to swathes of asset...