Brent crude oil futures traded below $65 per barrel on Thursday, holding losses from the previous session amid rising concerns over a global oil oversupply. Key oil producer Saudi Arabia is pushing for a significant increase in OPEC+ output at least 411,000 barrels per day in August, and possibly in September in a bid to capture market share during peak summer demand. The kingdom also cut its July crude prices for Asian buyers to near four-year lows, signaling softer demand from the region. While official US data showed a decline in crude inventories, gasoline and distillate stockpiles...
The Australian dollar held its recent gains around $0.649 on Thursday, as a weaker US dollar and an uptick in China's services PMI outweighed a decline in domestic trade balance. The greenback remained under pressure amid soft US economic data, with traders awaiting trade and jobless claims figures later in the day. The Aussie found further support after China's Caixin Services PMI, a key indicator from its largest trading partner, rose to 51.1 in May from 50.7 in April, signaling continued expansion. Meanwhile, Australia's trade surplus narrowed to AUD 5.41 billion in April, below...
The Japanese yen held firm around 142.9 on Thursday, after gaining nearly 1% in the previous session, supported by broad dollar weakness following disappointing US economic data. Recent indicators showed a sharp slowdown in private-sector hiring and an unexpected contraction in the US services sector, stoking fears that trade policy uncertainty is beginning to weigh on the broader economy. Domestically, data revealed a fourth consecutive decline in real wages in April, as inflation continued to outpace nominal wage growth. This deepens concerns over Japan's economic outlook, especially as...