Brent crude oil futures hovered around $63.3 per barrel on Friday, holding at a two-week high and remaining on track for a weekly gain, driven by geopolitical risk premium. Traders continued to watch for a possible US move in Venezuela after President Donald Trump signaled imminent action against the oil giant, with Rystad Energy warning that any escalation could threaten the country's 1.1 million bpd of crude output. Prices were also supported by the lack of progress in US talks in Moscow over the Ukraine war, which reduced the near-term prospects for restoring Russian supply, while...
Gold rebounded above $4,210 per ounce on Thursday after an early dip as markets squared positions ahead of the FOMC and digested fresh US labour signals that accelerated expectations of imminent easing. ADP reported a surprise decline of 32,000 private payrolls while Challenger announced 71,321 layoffs in November bringing the year to date total near 1.17 million which reinforced evidence that the labour market is cooling and lifted market confidence in a December 25bp cut. The dollar weakened with the DXY near 98.8 at its lowest since late October which reduced the opportunity cost of...
The USD/CHF pair weakened to the 0.8030 area at the start of Friday's European session. The US dollar was pressured by strong speculation of a Fed rate cut next week and rumors that White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett could replace Jerome Powell as Federal Reserve Chair. The market now prices nearly an 85% chance of a 25 bps rate cut at the December meeting, adding to selling pressure on the greenback. Investors are also awaiting the release of US September PCE inflation data, which could provide important clues to the Fed's future policy direction. In Switzerland, CPI inflation fell...
The dollar inched lower versus G-10 peers as markets await key inflation and sentiment readings from the US which may add context to mixed jobs data this week. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1%. US personal income, personal spending, core PCE, PCE price index and preliminary Michigan consumer sentiment are on due for release later today. USD/JPY fell 0.1% to 154.92 after being sold over the Tokyo fixing. Spot had hit 154.51 and a two-week low in London in response to report that key members of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's government wouldn't try to stop the...
Oil prices have held onto gains over the past two days amid market focus on ceasefire talks in Ukraine and concerns about a global oversupply. Brent is trading above $63 per barrel, while WTI is hovering near $60 per barrel. Ukrainian negotiators are preparing for a new round of talks in Florida, but Russian President Vladimir Putin has said several points in the US-backed peace plan are still unacceptable. On the other hand, the market is concerned that supply will become more abundant if sanctions on Russia are eased, increasing its oil exports. This pressure is compounded by Saudi Aramco...
The AUD/USD currency pair is currently in a bullish consolidation phase, a brief pause in its uptrend, and is hovering around the 0.6600 level during the Asian session on Friday (December 5th). This level is just below the nearly two-month high touched the previous day. Fundamentally, the path of best practice for AUD/USD remains upward, but many market participants are choosing to hold off while awaiting the release of key US inflation data before extending long positions formed over the past two weeks. Today's main market focus is the release of the US Core PCE Price Index for October,...
Gold prices were flat at around $4,205 per troy ounce at the start of Friday's Asian session. Rising US government bond yields and still-strong employment data prevented gold from rising further. Many market participants opted for a wait-and-see approach ahead of the release of key US inflation data, the September PCE Price Index, scheduled for release today. This data is considered key to determining the Fed's future policy direction. Higher bond yields and strong employment data typically support a stronger US dollar, which tends to pressure dollar-denominated commodity prices, including...
Oil prices have remained bullish for the past two days. WTI is trading near $60 per barrel, while Brent is above $63 after gaining 1.2% on Thursday. Market sentiment has been largely influenced by developments in ceasefire talks in Ukraine, with Ukrainian negotiators set to attend a new round of discussions in Florida. However, Russian President Vladimir Putin has made it clear that there are several points in the US peace plan that he cannot accept. The market is now focused on whether these talks will lead to the lifting of sanctions on Russia and increased oil exports from the country....
Gold rises in the early Asian trade. There's a broad commodities uptrend, driven by macro uncertainty, a weaker dollar, and persistent demand for "hard" assets, says Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst...
Oil extended declines after OPEC+ agreed to a bigger-than-expected production increase next month, raising concerns about oversupply just as US tariffs fan fears about the demand outlook.
Brent...
The Japanese Yen (JPY) weakened against its US counterpart and reversed part of Friday's recovery from the lowest level since July 23 following Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Kazuo Ueda's remarks....