Crude oil prices were steady on Friday but set for weekly declines as markets waited to see if U.S. President Donald Trump would follow through on his threat to impose tariffs on Mexico and Canada later this week. Brent crude for March, which expires on Friday, was up 8 cents at $76.95 a barrel by 0900 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 21 cents at $72.94. For the week, benchmarks Brent and WTI are set to fall 2% and 2.3%, respectively. "Crude oil prices have fallen this week on growing concerns about Trump's tariffs, which are expected to hamper global economic growth,"...
Gold prices (XAU/USD) are flat and just a few steps away from a new record high, currently at $2,800.93, with some profit-taking taking place. On the geopolitical front, markets were shaken by comments from US President Donald Trump confirming 25% tariffs will be imposed on Canada and Mexico, two of the US's largest trading partners, starting Saturday, and threatening to impose 100% tariffs on BRICS countries if they try to replace the US Dollar with a new currency in international trade. This should be a headwind for Bullion as it could lead to trade wars and inflation fears with prices...
The AUD/USD pair lost most of its intraday gains after facing selling pressure above 0.6230 during the European session on Friday (31/1), but is still up nearly 0.2% at the time of writing. The Australian currency pair weakened as the US Dollar (USD) strengthened amid rising global trade war risks, with US President Donald Trump threatening to impose high tariffs on BRICS, and other North American countries. The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, hit a fresh weekly high near 108.35. Market participants expect higher tariffs to lead...