WTI crude oil futures declined 1% to settle at $77.89 per barrel and Brent crude oil futures fell 0.6% to settle at $80.79 per barrel on Friday, driven by expectations of a ceasefire agreement in Gaza, which could reduce attacks on ships by Yemen's Houthi militia. Despite this drop, oil prices marked a fourth consecutive week of gains, rising more than 1%, primarily fueled by concerns over new U.S. sanctions targeting Russian oil producers and tankers, raising fears of tighter global oil supplies. Analysts highlighted that these concerns, coupled with expectations of U.S. interest rate...
Gold edged down after three days of gains mid-afternoon Friday as the dollar rebounded from two days of losses that followed on soft U.S. economic data that spurred hopes for faster interest-rate cuts from the Federal Reserve. Gold for February delivery was last seen down US$0.90 to US$2,750.00 per ounce. U.S. economic data this week showed core inflation and retail sales were softer than expected in December, reviving hopes the Federal Reserve will speed rate cuts, though the central bank is widely expected to leave rates unchanged at the Jan.29 end to the next meeting of its policy...
Oil prices rose in early Asian trade on the prospect of fresh supply disruptions, ANZ research analysts said in a commentary. New US sanctions on Russia's oil industry prompted many buyers to look for alternatives, analysts said. However, the recent gains may be short-lived as Trump has vowed to end the Russia-Ukraine war soon, analysts added. In the short term, the market is also eyeing cold weather in the Permian Basin, a major shale oil producer in Texas, they said. Front-month WTI crude rose 0.5% to $78.35/bbl; front-month Brent crude rose 0.5% to $81.17/bbl. Source: Dow Jones Newswires