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 Australian dollar weakened to below $0.650 on Thursday, pulling back gains from the previous session, as weaker-than-expected labor data reinforced expectations of an RBA rate cut in August. The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that the unemployment rate rose to an over three-year high of 4.3% in June, ending its five-month hold and exceeding forecasts of 4.1%, while employment increased by just 2K, well below the expected 20K gain. The soft labor market print added to evidence of a slowing economy, strengthening the case for policy easing. Markets are now pricing in an 89%...
The Japanese yen fell to around 148 per dollar on Thursday, as investors reacted to disappointing trade figures that fueled concerns about a potential technical recession. Japan's trade surplus narrowed to JPY 153.1 billion in June 2025, from JPY 221.3 billion a year earlier and well below market expectations of a JPY 353.9 billion surplus. Exports fell 0.5% yoy to JPY 9,162.6 billion—marking a second straight monthly decline and missing forecasts of a 0.5% gain. The drop was driven by continued pressure from the US tariff campaign, raising fears that Japan's economy may contract again in...
Gold steadied after a volatile session on Wednesday as traders assessed the outlook for Jerome Powell's tenure as Federal Reserve chair after more speculation that President Donald Trump may ax him. Bullion was below $3,350 an ounce after rising 0.7% in the previous session. The president said he's "not planning on doing anything" to remove Powell, after a White House official said Trump was likely to seek the Fed chair's ouster. Gold surged, and US stocks, the dollar and Treasury yields dropped after the initial speculation before Trump's clarification calmed markets. Still, concerns...
Oil prices rose in early trade on Thursday, reversing the previous session's losses, buoyed by stronger-than-expected economic data from the world's top oil consumers and signs of easing trade tensions. Brent crude futures rose 27 cents, or 0.39%, to $68.79 a barrel at 0000 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 31 cents, or 0.47%, at $66.69. Both benchmarks fell more than 0.2% in the previous session. U.S. crude inventories fell by 3.9 million barrels to 422.2 million barrels last week, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday, a steeper decline than...
Oil prices settled marginally lower on Wednesday as U.S. fuel inventory builds and concerns about wider economic impact from U.S. tariffs outweighed some signs of increasing demand. Brent crude futures settled 19 cents, or 0.3% lower, at $68.52 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 14 cents, or 0.2%, at $66.38. U.S. gasoline stocks rose by 3.4 million barrels last week, the Energy Information Administration said. Analysts had expected a draw of 1 million barrels. Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 4.2 million barrels, EIA data...
The EUR/USD holds to earlier gains of 0.25% on Wednesday after US President Donald Trump threatened to remove the Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell. This, along with a softer-than-expected inflation report on the producer side, capped the Euro's advance versus the US Dollar. At the time of writing, the pair trades at 1.1633 after bouncing off three-week lows of 1.1562. During the North American session, headlines at first suggested that Trump would sack Powell imminently. However, he later denied those rumors, though he continued to batter him, saying that Powell has been too late...
Gold price rose during the North American session by 0.78%, helped by US President Donald Trump's comments on firing Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell, despite his denials of the remarks, saying it is highly unlikely to fire him unless there is fraud. At the time of writing, XAU/USD trades at 3,348 after hitting a daily peak of $3,377 on Trump's headlines. A Bloomberg article revealed that "Trump discussed the possible move in a meeting with GOP lawmakers at the White House to discuss cryptocurrency legislation," with Trump saying that almost every one of them liked the idea of...
Gold price action is reacting to another critical US inflation report on Wednesday as price action remains sensitive to shifting interest rate expectations and movements in the US Dollar. At the time of writing, the XAU/USD is above $3,350, as traders digest inflation reports and shift focus to concerns related to Fed independence. The June PPI came in softer than expected, with the monthly headline figure coming in unchanged, below forecasts of a 0.2% increase. On an annual basis, headline PPI rose 2.3%, also underperforming expectations of 2.5% and marking a decline from May's...
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....