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 rose on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would make an announcement regarding Russia, raising the prospect of more sanctions on the major oil producer, while tariff concern and rising OPEC+ output capped gains. Brent crude futures were up 19 cents, or 0.28%, at $68.83 a barrel as of 0408 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude ticked up 24 cents, or 0.36%, to $66.81 a barrel. So far this week, Brent has added 0.8% and WTI has dipped 0.2%. Both contracts lost more than 2% on Thursday as investors worried about the impact of Trump's evolving tariff policy on...
Gold rose on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump announced new tariffs on Canadian imports and broader tariff threats to other trading partners, but gains were capped by a stronger dollar amid mounting signs of turmoil in global trade landscape. Spot gold rose 0.3% to $3,333.67 per ounce as of 0245 GMT. U.S. gold futures added 0.6% to $3,345.10. On Thursday, Trump said U.S. would impose a 35% tariff on imports from Canada and planned to impose blanket duties of 15% or 20% on most other trade partners. This follows Wednesday's announcement of a 50% tariff on U.S. copper imports and a...
The Japanese Yen (JPY) drifts lower against a broadly stronger US Dollar (USD) during the Asian session on Friday and remains on track to register weekly losses amid reduced bets for an immediate rate hike by the Bank of Japan (BoJ). US President Donald Trump recently imposed a 25% tariff on all Japanese exports to America starting on August 1 and ruled out any extension of the deadline. This comes at a time when economic growth has been slowing, which, along with declining real wages and signs of cooling inflationary pressures, should allow the BoJ to forgo raising interest rates this...
The Australian Dollar (AUD) is poised to continue its winning streak for the fourth successive session against the US Dollar (USD) on Friday, after recovering its daily losses. However, the AUD/USD pair faced challenges following the introduction of new tariff actions by US President Donald Trump. President Trump announced on Thursday a 35% tariff rate for goods imported from Canada, effective August 1. He further stated that the European Union (EU) would receive a letter notifying them of new tariff rates "today or tomorrow." The AUD receives support after the Reserve Bank of Australia...
The US dollar index climbed toward 98 on Friday, on track for a nearly 1% weekly gain, as investors responded to fresh tariff announcements and evolving monetary policy signals. President Trump ramped up trade tensions throughout the week, unveiling a 35% tariff on Canadian imports starting August 1 and signaling 15% to 20% blanket tariffs on most other trading partners. Earlier in the week, the administration also announced 50% duties on copper imports and Brazilian goods, all set to take effect on the same date. On the monetary policy front, Chicago Fed's Goolsbee pushed back against the...
Gold steadied after a two-day climb as traders focused on tariff threats from President Donald Trump and the outlook for US monetary policy. Bullion traded above $3,332 an ounce, after posting modest gains on Wednesday and Thursday that pared a weekly drop. The president proposed a slew of country-specific tariffs this week, including moves against Canada and Brazil, while pushing the overall deadline for implementation to Aug. 1. In addition, he's planning a substantial levy on imports of copper. Elsewhere, investors were considering the outlook for US...
West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the US crude oil benchmark, is trading around $65.75 during the early Asian trading hours on Friday. The WTI price tumbles amid concerns about a supply hike for August by OPEC+, a surprise increase in US crude inventories, and intensifying US tariff pressures. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies (OPEC+) agreed at a July 6 meeting to hike their collective crude production by 548,000 barrels per day (bpd), as they continue to unwind a set of voluntary supply cuts. The group previously announced hikes of 411,000 bpd for May, June,...
EUR/USD weakened during the North American session, down more than 0.23%, as market participants digested the US jobs report that strengthened the Federal Reserve's case for maintaining interest rates at its upcoming July meeting. At the time of writing, the pair was trading at 1.1695 after peaking at 1.1749. Wall Street ended Thursday's session with gains as traders assessed the current US labor market situation. Initial Jobless Claims for the past week were below estimates and the previous reading, signaling strength. However, Continuing Claims rose to their highest level since 2022. On...
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....