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 edged higher as President Donald Trump said his maximum pressure campaign against Iranian oil would continue, while a government report showed another big drop in U.S. crude stockpiles. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose above $65 a barrel after rising 0.9% in the previous session. Brent settled near $68. Trump said he was "not giving up" on a strategy targeting Tehran's petrodollars, after comments that appeared to undermine the plan. The president also flagged talks with Iran next week. Oil hit its biggest two-day decline since 2022 earlier in the week after Israel and Iran...
EUR/USD rallied to its highest level since October 2021, above the 1.1650 level on Wednesday, driven by a risk-on mood sparked by the de-escalation of the Iran-Israel conflict and broad weakness in the US Dollar. Investors' growing speculation that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will cut interest rates pushed the Greenback lower, setting it to test yearly lows. At the time of writing, the pair trades at 1.1661, up 0.45%. Geopolitics and central bank speeches are grabbing the headlines at the beginning of the week. Fed Chair Jerome Powell appeared before the US Senate, reiterating that monetary...
GBP/USD manages to regain traction and cut earlier losses, trading around 1.3620 in the American session. Cable approaches its 2025 after a near-term US Dollar correction. Encouraging Middle East headlines and Powell's words back the upbeat mood Risk flows continued to dominate the action in financial markets in the first half of the day on Tuesday as investors cheered news of the Iran-Israel ceasefire. As a result, the US Dollar (USD) struggled to find demand and allowed GBP/USD to push higher. In the American session, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's cautious comments on...
The Australian Dollar (AUD) is steadying against the US Dollar (USD), following a two-day rally that lifted AUD/USD back above 0.6500. With risk-on sentiment returning to markets following Tuesday's confirmation of a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, the Australian Dollar has benefited from easing geopolitical tensions. However, with prices now recovering above the 200-day Simple Moving Average (SMA), bullish momentum may be beginning to lose steam. As technical and fundamental factors contribute to driving price action, the relative performance of the two economies and interest rate...
Gold prices remain steady during the North American session on Wednesday, rising over 0.30% as risk appetite improves due to the de-escalation and truce of the Israel-Iran conflict. Worse-than-expected housing data in the United States (US) could lead to actions by the Federal Reserve (Fed). Still, Chair Jerome Powell maintains his hawkish rhetoric, which is capping bullion's gains. XAU/USD trades at $3,334, up 0.34% as the Greenback trims some of its earlier gains, while US equities trade with gains. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said during his testimony before US Congress that tariffs could...
Oil prices rose over 1% on Wednesday, recovering from a sharp slide early this week, as data showed relatively strong U.S. demand, and as investors assessed the stability of a ceasefire between Iran and Israel. Brent crude futures were up 82 cents, or 1.2%, at $67.96 a barrel at 10:54 a.m. EDT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 83 cents, or 1.3%, to $65.20. On Tuesday, Brent settled at its lowest since June 10 and WTI at its lowest since June 5. Oil prices rose after June 13, when Israel launched a surprise attack on key Iranian military and nuclear facilities. Prices...
Silver (XAG/USD) is showing muted price action on Wednesday, slipping modestly lower but staying within Tuesday's range. At the time of writing, the metal is trading around $35.75 during the American session, down roughly 0.46% on the day. The subdued movement reflects fading safe-haven demand, as signs of easing geopolitical tensions — particularly the truce between Iran and Israel — have cooled the recent risk premium that helped drive Silver to multi-year highs. Silver is showing early signs of technical fatigue after a strong multi-week uptrend that saw the metal climb from sub-$30...
The dollar index was at the 98 mark on Wednesday, halting the slide that tested three-year lows yesterday as markets continued to assess the monetary policy outlook for the Federal Reserve. In his first testimony before Congress, Chairman Powell noted that the uncertain economic backdrop drove FOMC members to wait for clarity on trade policy before committing to a specific rate path. Still, Powell noted that the lack of tariffs favor the continuation of a disinflationary outlook, favoring rate cuts should the White House refrain from reintroducing tariffs on the July 9th deadline. In the...
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....