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...
Gold held steady early in the Asian session as traders assessed geopolitical developments and tariffs. On the one hand, President Trump said there was a "high probability" he would soon meet with Russian President Putin to discuss the war in Ukraine, which may reduce the precious metal's appeal as a safe-haven asset. On the other hand, Trump doubled tariffs on India to 50%, while India criticized the new tariffs, which could escalate US-India trade tensions. "The coming hours and days may play a key role in shaping the dynamics of the [gold] market," said Samer Hasn, senior market analyst...
Oil maintained a five-day losing streak, its longest losing streak since January, as investors looked beyond US efforts to punish buyers of Russian crude, while following President Donald Trump's diplomatic push to end the war in Ukraine. West Texas Intermediate crude was little changed at just under $65 a barrel after dropping to its lowest closing level since early June, while Brent closed just below $67. On Wednesday, Trump doubled tariffs on Indian goods to 50% due to the country's purchases of Russian energy, with the tariffs set to take effect in three weeks. However, no similar US...
The EUR/USD rallied more than 0.50% on Wednesday, boosted by broad US Dollar weakness across the board as traders began to price in rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. In addition, fears of the Fed's independence from the White House increased, as US President Trump said that he would nominate a replacement for the vacated seat by Fed Governor Adriana Kugler, who steps down on August 8. The pair trades at 1.1657 after bouncing off lows of 1.1564. The economic docket in the US was empty on Wednesday, though a slew of Fed officials crossed the wires. Boston Fed President Susan Collins revealed...
Gold price retreats in the North American session, weighed down by rising US Treasury yields, traders booking profits, and news that US President Donald Trump might name Fed Governor Adriana Kugler's replacement toward the end of the year. The XAU/USD trades at $3,372, down 0.23%. Bullion faltering to extend its rally, which extended for three days, is also attributed to traders booking profits, even though US President Donald Trump signed an executive order adding a 25% levy on India as the latter continues to purchase Russian Oil. India's new tariff, effective 21 days after August 7,...
Oil prices slid about 1% to an eight-week low on Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump's remarks about progress in talks with Moscow created uncertainty on whether the U.S. would impose new sanctions on Russia. Brent crude futures fell 75 cents, or 1.1%, to settle at $66.89 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude dropped 81 cents, or 1.2%, to settle at $64.35. Those moves marked a fifth consecutive day of losses for both crude benchmarks, with Brent closing at its lowest since June 10 and WTI closing at its lowest since June 5. Trump said on Wednesday that his special...
The dollar dropped on Wednesday and the euro hit a one-week high as traders bet that the Federal Reserve will cut rates more times than previously expected this year, following weaker than expected jobs data for July. With no major U.S. economic releases on Wednesday traders continued to focus on the implications from Friday's jobs report. U.S. employment growth was weaker than expected in July while the nonfarm payrolls count for the prior two months was revised down by a massive 258,000 jobs, suggesting a sharp deterioration in labor market conditions. The greenback fell sharply after...
The GBP/USD climbs solidly during the North American session, up by 0.37% ahead of the Bank of England's (BoE) meeting and as traders digest the recent Nonfarm Payroll figures, and over the weekend developments, that opened a spot for US President Trump to nominate a Fed Governor. At the time of writing, the pair trades at 1.3342.The Bank of England is expected to reduce rates by 25 basis points, to 4%, according to money market futures data. The decision is expected not to be unanimous, with banks like Morgan Stanley expected to hold, Catherine Mann, a 50 basis points cut, Swati Dhingra,...
Oil prices rose early on Wednesday, for the first time in five sessions, as a report showed a larger than expected drop in U.S. inventories amid strong summer demand. West Texas Intermediate crude oil for September delivery was last seen up US$0.95 to US$66.11 per barrel, while October Brent oil was up US$0.92 to US$68.56. In its weekly survey, the American Petroleum Institute reported U.S. oil inventories fell by 4.2-million barrels last week, while the consensus analyst estimate expected a drop of 1.8-million barrels, according to Oilprice.com. The Energy Information Administration will...
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....