Oil prices firmed on Thursday after Ukrainian attacks on Russia's oil infrastructure signalled potential supply constraints, and stalled peace talks tempered expectations of a deal restoring Russian oil flows to global markets, though weak fundamentals kept gains limited. Brent crude rose 41 cents, or 0.65%, to $63.08 at 0659 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate rose 45 cents, or 0.76%, to $59.40. Ukraine hit the Druzhba oil pipeline in Russia's central Tambov region, a Ukrainian military intelligence source said on Wednesday, the fifth attack on the pipeline that sends Russian oil to...
The U.S. dollar steadied Thursday, but remains weak after recent lackluster economic data largely cemented the case for a rate cut from the Federal Reserve next week. The Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, traded largely unchanged at 98.805, near a five-week low and almost 9% lower so far this year. Fed meeting looms largeWeak U.S. economic data has bolstered expectations for a Fed rate cut next week, weighing heavily on the U.S. currency. "After yesterday's 32k drop in ADP payrolls, a Fed cut next week looks even closer to a certainty,"...
Gold (XAU/USD) holds steady on Thursday, moving quietly within the $4,160-$4,260 range as investors adopt a wait-and-see approach ahead of the Federal Reserve's (Fed) monetary policy meeting next week. At the time of writing, XAU/USD is trading around $4,200, with the cautious market backdrop keeping the metal in a consolidative phase after it climbed to a six-week high earlier this week. Markets largely expect the Fed to lower interest rates at the December 9-10 meeting. That conviction firmed after Tuesday's US economic data showed a surprise decline in ADP Employment Change,...