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 Pound Sterling remained steady against the Greenback on Thursday after a solid Nonfarm Payrolls report in the United States (US) cemented the case that the Federal Reserve would hold rates at the July meeting, as the Unemployment Rate ticked lower. At the time of writing, the GBP/USD trades at 1.3634, virtually unchanged. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that the US economy added 149,000 people to the workforce, exceeding estimates of 110,000 and May's 144,000 print. The Unemployment Rate came at 4.1% down from 4.2%. The data fortifies the Fed Chair Jerome Powell's...
The dollar index climbed above 97.3 after a stronger-than-expected June jobs report helped ease concerns over the health of the US labor market, despite lingering uncertainty surrounding trade policy. The US economy added 147,000 jobs in June, up from 144,000 in May and well above market forecasts of 110,000. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate unexpectedly dipped to 4.1%, defying expectations of a rise to 4.3%. Average hourly earnings increased by 0.2%, slightly below the projected 0.3%. Source: Trading Economi
The EUR/USD pair is practically flat on Thursday, trading right below 1.1800 at the time of writing, not far from the multi-year highs reached earlier this week. Investors' appetite for risk is fading as optimism about the US deal with Vietnam gives way to caution heading into the US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) data release. In the Eurozone, June's services activity was revised higher to 50.5 from the previously estimated 50.0 reading. These figures reveal that the sector grew again in the last month, following a slight contraction in May. The impact of the data in the Euro, however, has been...
Gold price (XAU/USD) holds onto gains near the weekly high around $3,365 during the European trading session on Thursday. The yellow metal trades firmly ahead of the United States (USD) Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) data for June, which will be published at 12:30 GMT. Investors will closely monitor the US NFP data as a few Federal Reserve (Fed) officials have expressed concerns regarding the labor market strength. Also, market experts believe that US business owners are reluctant for fresh hiring amid uncertainty surrounding the tariff policy imposed by President Donald Trump after his return to...
Oil prices fell on Thursday after gaining 3% in the previous session as investors are wary higher U.S. tariffs may be reinstated, which could cause lower fuel demand, and as major producers are expected to announce an output hike. Brent crude futures fell 45 cents, or 0.65%, to $68.66 a barrel by 0645 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude declined 44 cents, or 0.66%, to $67.01 a barrel Both contracts rose to their highest in one week on Wednesday as Iran suspended cooperation with the U.N. nuclear watchdog, raising concerns the lingering dispute over the Middle East producer's nuclear...
The British pound edged higher toward $1.37, partially recovering from Wednesday's decline, as markets reacted positively to Prime Minister Keir Starmer's strong backing of Chancellor Rachel Reeves. Starmer defended Reeves amid speculation about her future, attributing her emotional moment to a "personal matter" and affirming she would remain chancellor "for a very long time to come." His remarks helped ease investor concerns that a potential replacement might be less committed to fiscal discipline and more inclined toward increased borrowing. Meanwhile, traders also digested comments from...
Silver price revisits two-week high near $36.80 during European trading hours on Thursday. The white metal trades firmly ahead of the United States (US) Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) data for June, which will be published at 12:30 GMT. The US official employment data will significantly influence market expectations for the Federal Reserve's (Fed) monetary policy outlook as officials have lately warned of downside labor market risks. Economists expect US employers to have added 110K fresh workers, fewer than 139K in May. The Unemployment Rate is estimated to have accelerated to 4.3% from the prior...
Gold prices were little changed on Thursday as investors held back from making significant bets, awaiting U.S. payroll data later in the day for insight into the Federal Reserve's policy direction. Spot gold held steady at $3,357.96 per ounce as of 0601 GMT, while U.S. gold futures edged up 0.2% to $3,369.10. Gold appears to be consolidating at present within the $3,320 to $3,360 range, with the market adopting a wait-and-see approach rather than taking significant positions ahead of U.S. non-farm payroll and ISM Services PMI data, OANDA senior market analyst Kelvin Wong said. Data...
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....