Oil prices stabilized on Thursday (February 12th), as the market reassigned a risk premium to US-Iran tensions despite US inventory data showing swelling domestic supplies. This movement confirms one thing: geopolitical headlines are still more "noise" than signals of a short-term surplus. As of 3:50 PM WIB, Brent was at $69.60/barrel (+0.29%) and WTI was at $64.83/barrel (+0.31%). The gains were moderate, but enough to keep prices near the psychological $70 level for Brent. From a geopolitical perspective, market focus is on the potential for escalation in the Middle East. Recent reports...
Oil prices held on to four consecutive days of gains as the US continued its blockade of oil shipments from Venezuela. In this morning's trading, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was trading around $58 per barrel, after rising about 5% in the last four sessions, while Brent closed near $62 per barrel. US President Donald Trump confirmed that the US would continue to withhold oil from seized vessels linked to Venezuela. The US has already seized two oil tankers and is pursuing a third, as part of further pressure on the government of Nicolás Maduro. Despite the ship seizures, more than a dozen...
Oil prices rose on Monday (December 22nd) after the U.S. Coast Guard attempted to intercept an oil tanker in international waters near Venezuela the day before, and Ukraine damaged two ships and a dock in Russia, raising the risk of oil supply disruptions. Brent crude rose $1.60, or 2.7%, to $62.07 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose $1.49, or 2.6%, to $58.01 a barrel. The U.S. Coast Guard attempted to intercept an oil tanker on Sunday that U.S. officials said was part of an illegal Venezuelan sanctions-evasion operation, the third such operation this month. The pursuit...
Gold (XAU/USD) rallied more than 2% on Monday (December 22nd), hitting a record high of $4,442 amid rising geopolitical tensions and expectations that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will continue to cut interest rates next year, pushing US Treasury yields lower. At the time of writing, XAU/USD was trading at $4,435, having rebounded from a daily low of $4,338. Gold prices surged more than 2% amid rising tensions in the Middle East and Venezuela, while markets expect a deeper Fed rate cut for 2026. Tensions in the Caribbean escalated after US President Donald Trump announced last week a...
Silver (XAG/USD) extended its bullish momentum on Monday, trading around $69.05 at the time of writing, up 2.75% on the day, after hitting a new all-time high of $69.47 earlier in the day. The white metal benefited from strong follow-through buying after several weeks of steady gains, supported by a macroeconomic and geopolitical backdrop that remains favorable for safe-haven assets. Silver's rise occurred amid persistent expectations for monetary easing in the United States. Markets continue to price in additional interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve (Fed) through 2026, as recent data...
Oil prices rose as President Donald Trump tightened the blockade on Venezuela, with US forces boarding one tanker and pursuing another within weeks of capturing a vessel. West Texas Intermediate oil traded as high as $58 per barrel on Monday after two weeks of declines. The US Coast Guard boarded the tanker Centuries in the Caribbean on Saturday, carrying about 2 million barrels of Venezuelan crude. It was the first non-sanctioned vessel to be targeted. US forces are also pursuing the Bella 1, which was en route to Venezuela. Washington has been increasing pressure on the government of...
Gold and silver surged to all-time highs, as rising geopolitical tensions and bets on further U.S. interest rate cuts added momentum to their best annual performance in more than four decades. Gold and silver rose 2.1% to surpass their previous record of $4,381 an ounce set in October, while silver gained 3.4%, approaching $70 an ounce. This move extended a remarkable rally that has put both metals on track for their strongest annual performance since 1979. This latest surge came as traders bet the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates twice by 2026, and as U.S. President Donald Trump...
Gold (XAU/USD) surges to fresh record highs on Monday, as escalating geopolitical tensions bolster safe-haven demand. At the time of writing, XAU/USD is trading around $4,413, up about 1.70% on the day, after breaking above the October 21 peak near $4,381. The precious metal is on track for its strongest annual performance since 1979, with prices up nearly 67% year to date. The rally has been fuelled by a dovish Federal Reserve (Fed) stance, broadly weaker US Dollar (USD), sustained central-bank buying, and record inflows into Gold-backed ETFs. Looking ahead, markets continue to anticipate...
The U.S. dollar drifted lower on Monday after logging some gains last week, while threats of government intervention helped the Japanese yen recover mildly from recent losses. Regional markets showed little reaction to the People's Bank of China leaving a benchmark interest rate unchanged as widely expected. Risk appetite was dampened by increased geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela, while markets were also on guard over renewed hostilities between Israel and Iran. The dollar found some strength last week as soft inflation data was insufficient in convincing markets that...
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....