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 US Dollar (USD) is trading with a slightly positive tone on Wednesday, bouncing back a bit after hitting the lowest level since February 2022 on Tuesday. The modest rebound comes as traders digest US economic data and cautious comments from Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell, which have slightly eased the downward pressure on the Greenback. Still, concerns over tariffs, fiscal policy and the Fed's next move continue to weigh on the USD broader outlook. The US Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the Greenback's performance against a basket of six major currencies, is moving...
Gold (XAU/USD) price is attempting to extend its recovery as traders digest Wednesday's Automatic Data Processing (ADP) employment report. With XAU/USD hovering near $3,350 at the time of writing, US President Trump's tax bill and interest rate expectations continue to drive demand for bullion. The ADP Employment Change report for June showed that the private sector contracted in June. Analysts had expected the June report to show that 95,000 jobs were added to the US private sector in May. Instead, a negative reading of 33K reflects potential weakness in the US labour market. As a...
Oil prices rose Wednesday after Iran suspended cooperation with the U.N. nuclear watchdog, lifting geopolitical tensions in the region. At 07:50 ET (11:50 GMT), Brent oil futures for September rose 1.2% to $67.94 a barrel, and West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 1.3% to $66.30 a barrel. Iran suspends cooperation with UN Iran put into effect a law on Wednesday that stipulates that any future inspection of its nuclear sites by the International Atomic Energy Agency needs approval by Tehran's Supreme National Security Council. This decision comes amid growing tensions between Tehran...
The AUD/USD pair attracts some sellers on Wednesday and moves away from a fresh year-to-date high, around the 0.6590 area touched the previous day. Spot prices remain depressed near the 0.6565-0.6560 region through the first half of the European session, though the downside potential seems limited. The Australian Dollar (USD) is weighed down by unimpressive domestic data, which reaffirmed bets that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will cut interest rates again in July. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reported that Retail Sales grew 0.2% MoM in May compared to 0% in April,...
The U.S. dollar languished near its lowest since February 2022 against major peers on Wednesday as traders considered the potential impact of President Donald Trump's spending bill, and looming tariff deadlines. Market participants are in a holding pattern until they get clarity on those matters and as they await U.S. jobs data for June, and the dollar inched up slightly but remained near recent lows. The euro was down 0.3% at $1.1774, on Wednesday, but close to its highest since September 2021 hit Tuesday, and the pound was down 0.15% at $1.3722, after hitting a three-and-a-half year top...
The US Dollar is showing a slightly firmer tone on Wednesday with the USD/CHF bouncing up from multi-year lows at 0.7875, but still capped below previous lows at the 0.7960 area. The Greenback drew some support on Tuesday from a strong US JOLTS Job Openings report and a larger-than-expected improvement in manufacturing activity. These figures endorsed Fed Powell's earlier comments at the ECB Forum oc Central Banking in Sintra, Portugal, where the chair of the US central bank confirmed his cautious stance toward interest rate cuts, amid a likely increase on inflation stemming from Trump's...
Silver prices hovered around $36 per ounce on Wednesday, remaining largely unchanged for a third consecutive session and gaining support from a weaker dollar amid growing trade and fiscal uncertainties in the US. Those moves came as Fed Chair Jerome Powell reiterated on Tuesday that the central bank remains patient regarding additional interest rate cuts but did not rule out easing at this month's meeting. He also noted that the Fed would have already cut rates if not for the inflationary effects of President Donald Trump's tariffs. Adding to investor caution, the Senate narrowly approved...
Gold price (XAU/USD) trades with a mild negative bias during the early European session on Wednesday and for now, seems to have snapped a two-day winning streak to a one-week top touched the previous day. The US Dollar (USD) ticks higher and moves away from a three-and-a-half-year low, which, in turn, undermines the commodity. Moreover, a generally positive risk tone is seen as another factor denting demand for the safe-haven precious metal. However, expectations that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) will resume its rate-cutting cycle in the near future and concerns about the fiscal...
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....