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...
The EUR/USD pair posted modest gains on Thursday (July 31st), following a sharp sell-off over the past three days. The pair resumed its decline on Wednesday following strong US Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures and a hawkish message from the Federal Reserve (Fed). The euro (EUR) was trading at 1.1435 at the European market open, up from a seven-week low of 1.1400 reached after the Fed's monetary policy decision on Wednesday, but still on track for a 3% depreciation in July. The US emerged as the best-performing nation in this eventful week. US data continued to show that the economy...
The USD/CHF pair weakened to around 0.8125 during early European trading hours. The US dollar weakened against the Swiss franc (CHF) despite a hawkish stance from US Federal Reserve officials. Traders are bracing for further developments surrounding US President Donald Trump's tariff policy ahead of the deadline. On Wednesday, Trump announced that the United States would impose a 15% tariff on imports from South Korea. The agreement includes a $350 billion commitment from South Korea for US-owned and -controlled investments. Meanwhile, US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick announced that...
Silver prices hovered near $37 per ounce on Thursday, steadying after falling more than 2% in the previous session. The decline followed the Federal Reserve's decision to keep interest rates unchanged at 4.25%–4.5%, reflecting a cautious stance on future rate cuts despite political pressure from President Trump and dissenting votes from Governors Michelle Bowman and Christopher Waller. Fed Chair Jerome Powell reiterated that it is still too early to consider cutting rates and gave little indication of when easing might resume. In response, markets pared back expectations for rate...
Gold prices rebounded on Thursday from a one-month low hit in the previous session, as trade uncertainty sparked by the announcement of new US tariffs boosted bullion's appeal, even as expectations of a US interest rate cut in September eased. Spot gold rose 0.5% to $3,292.24 an ounce, as of 02:30 GMT. Bullion hit its lowest level since June 30 at $3,267.79 on Wednesday. US gold futures fell 0.2% to $3,287. "Gold at levels below $3,300 has attracted buying interest from traders as a value strategy, especially with the prevailing economic uncertainty, which aligns with Trump's threat of...
The Japanese Yen (JPY) edges higher against a softer US Dollar (USD) during the Asian session on Thursday and recovers a part of the previous day's slide to its lowest level since early April. Data released from Japan earlier today showed that Industrial Production unexpectedly grew in June, while strong Retail Sales pointed to resilience in consumer spending. This, along with some repositioning trade ahead of the crucial Bank of Japan (BoJ) policy update, offers some support to the JPY. Investors will look for signals on how the recent US-Japan trade agreement might influence the BoJ's...
The Australian Dollar (AUD) appreciates on Thursday, halting its five-day losing streak. The AUD/USD pair maintains its position following the release of key economic data from Australia and its close trading partner, China. Australia's Retail Sales rose 1.2% month-over-month in June, compared to 0.5% in May (revised from 0.2%). The reading came in above the market expectations of 0.4%. Retail Sales climbed 0.3% QoQ in the second quarter, compared to 0.1% in Q1 (revised from 0%). China's NBS Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) dropped to 49.3 in July, as against 49.7 reported in...
The dollar flirted with a two-month peak on Thursday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell stuck to his patient approach on rates in a closely watched policy decision and offered little insight on when they could be lowered. The greenback was also on track for its first monthly gain for the year, bolstered by a hawkish Fed and U.S. economic resilience, with uncertainty over tariffs beginning to ease given recent trade deals struck by Washington. Against a basket of currencies, the dollar was last steady at 99.77 , not far from a two-month peak of 99.987 it hit in the previous session....
Oil steadied after closing at the highest in almost six weeks as President Donald Trump threatened to penalize India for buying Russian crude and his administration tightened a crackdown on supplies from Iran. West Texas Intermediate traded above $70 a barrel after surging more than 7% so far this week. Brent settled near $73 on Wednesday. The US president said he would impose a tariff on India's exports and a penalty for its energy purchases from Russia. He later added the two sides were still in talks. Meanwhile, the US implemented its most sweeping Iran-related sanctions in seven years....
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....