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 eased on Monday due to slightly firmer U.S. Treasury yields and profit-taking following last week's sharp rally driven by weak U.S. jobs data. Spot gold lost 0.2% to $3,356.91 per ounce, as of 1051 GMT, after rising more than 2% on Friday. However, U.S. gold futures gained 0.3% to $3,410.20. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield ticked higher from Friday's five-week low, dulling non-yielding bullion's appeal. "The market will remain range bound with today's pullback being in line with some the reversals seen across markets following Friday's big moves, especially yields which are a...
Oil prices dropped on Monday after OPEC+ agreed to another large output hike in September, though traders remained wary of further sanctions on Russia. Brent crude futures fell 85 cents, or 1.2%, to $68.82 a barrel by 0846 GMT, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude declined 82 cents, or 1.2%, to $66.51 a barrel. Both contracts closed about $2 lower on Friday. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies, known as OPEC+, agreed on Sunday to raise oil production by 547,000 barrels per day for September, the latest in a series of accelerated output hikes to regain...
The Swiss Franc is the worst performer of the G8 currencies on Monday. Weak Swiss manufacturing data has offset the positive impact of the above-consensus inflation, while the US Dollar shows a mild positive tone following Friday's sell-off. Consumer inflation stalled in July, according to the CPI numbers released on Monday, which showed that the yearly inflation accelerated to 0.2% from 0.1% in the previous month, with the monthly CPI flat, against expectations of a 0.2% contraction, and following a 0.2% growth in the previous month. These figures ease pressure on the SNB to cut rates...
The Pound Sterling (GBP) holds onto Friday's gains around 1.3300 against the US Dollar (USD) during the European trading session on Monday. The GBP/USD pair shows strength as the US Dollar (USD) licks its wounds following the sharp decline registered on Friday after the release of the United States (US) Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) data for July. At the time of writing, the US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback's value against six major currencies, trades close to Friday's low of around 98.60. The US NFP report showed that labor market conditions have cooled down significantly....
Gold price (XAU/USD) pulls back from the $3,369 region, or over a one-week top touched during the Asian session on Monday, and for now, seems to have stalled last week's goodish recovery move from a one-month low. The US Dollar (USD) attracts some buyers at the start of a new week and reverses a part of Friday's weaker US jobs data-inspired slump amid a modest rebound in the US Treasury bond yields. This, in turn, is seen as a key factor acting as a headwind for the precious metal. Any meaningful USD positive move, however, seems elusive in the wake of the growing acceptance that the...
Oil prices fell on Monday (August 4th) after OPEC+ agreed to a major production increase in September, which will boost supply. However, concerns about disruptions to Russian oil shipments to top importer India limited losses. Brent crude futures fell 18 cents, or 0.26%, to $69.49 a barrel at 04:56 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $67.21 a barrel, down 12 cents, or 0.18%, after both contracts closed about $2 a barrel lower on Friday. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, known as OPEC+, agreed on Sunday to increase oil production...
Gold prices weakened slightly on Monday (August 4th) as investors took profits after a sharp rise in the previous session on weaker-than-expected US employment data, which raised expectations of a US Federal Reserve interest rate cut in September. Spot gold prices fell 0.1% to $3,360.62 per ounce, as of 04:32 GMT. Bullion prices rose more than 2% on Friday. However, US gold futures rose 0.4% to $3,412.80. "Gold started the week conservatively after Friday's price surge. A combination of profit-taking and a stabilizing dollar has led to a slight weakening of gold at the start of the week,"...
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the value of the US dollar (USD) against six major currencies, held its position after recording a decline of around 1.5% in the previous session. The DXY traded around 98.70 during the Asian session on Monday (August 4). The US dollar weakened after a worse-than-expected US employment report released on Friday, which triggered a market reaction to two interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve (Fed). Traders now expect a 63 basis point (bps) cut by the end of the year, up from around 34 bps on Thursday, with the first cut expected in September. US...
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....