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 (GBP) faces selling pressure against its major peers on Thursday as the Bank of England's (BoE) leaves interest rates steady at 4.25%. The BoE was expected to do so as it guided a "gradual and careful" stance to the monetary expansion path in the May policy meeting, following an interest rate reduction by 25 basis points (bps). Investors expected the BoE to leave borrowing rates steady at 4.25%, with a 7-2 majority. However, three Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) members: Swati Dhingra, Dave Ramsden and Alan Taylor have supported for an interest rate cut. These members...
Gold price (XAU/USD) trades in a limited range below the round-level resistance of $3,400 during European trading hours on Thursday. The upside in the yellow metal appears to have been capped by upwardly revised interest rate target for 2026 and 2027 by the Federal Reserve (Fed) on Wednesday, following leaving them unchanged in the range of 4.25%-4.50% for the fourth straight meeting. The Fed warned of increasing upside risks to inflation due to the imposition of tariff policy by Unted States (US) President Donald Trump raised inflation target for 2026 and 2027 to 3.6% and 3.4%,...
Oil prices rose on Thursday after Israel and Iran continued to exchange missile attacks overnight and U.S. President Donald Trump's stance on the conflict kept investors on edge. Brent crude futures rose 36 cents, or 0.5%, to $77.06 a barrel by 0913 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for July was up 54 cents, or 0.7%, at $75.68. Brent had surged to its highest in nearly five months at $78.50 on June 13, when Israel began its attacks. The conflict entered its seventh day on Thursday after Israel struck a key Iranian nuclear site and Iranian missiles hit an Israeli hospital. There is...
The EUR/USD pair has bounced up from weekly lows at 1.1445 on Thursday and is trading at 1.1475, practically flat on the day, at the moment of writing. Fears of an escalation of the Israel-Iran war into a regional conflict are dampening risk appetite and weighing on the Euro in favor of safe assets such as the US Dollar. US President Donald Trump stole the Federal Reserve's (Fed) spotlight on Wednesday, leaving the world guessing whether the US may join Israel in its attack on Iran, and a report from Bloomberg, released somewhat later, suggested that US officials might be preparing to enter...
The dollar rose on Thursday, boosted by safe-haven demand amid the threat of a wider conflict in the Middle East and possible U.S. involvement, while investors weighed Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's warning tone on inflation. After a quiet start in Asian hours, the dollar strengthened across the board, weighing on risk-sensitive currencies after a report said U.S. officials were preparing for a possible attack on Iran in the coming days. The Australian dollar fell as much as 0.5% but was last down 0.3% at $0.6489, while the New Zealand dollar fell 0.5% to $0.5998. Emerging-market...
Gold prices rose on Thursday as the Iran-Israel conflict dragged on for a seventh day, boosting demand for the safe-haven asset, although the US Federal Reserve's cautious stance on future interest rate cuts kept gains in check. Spot gold was up 0.2% at $3,374.54 an ounce, by 0505 GMT. US gold futures were down 0.5% at $3,391.90. "Gold has been gaining a bit as we wait for the next move in the Israel-Iran conflict. If the US decides to get directly involved in the conflict, that could raise the geopolitical stakes," said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade. Geopolitical...
Silver (XAG/USD) oscillated in a narrow range around the $36.75 area during the Asian session on Thursday (June 19) and for now, seems to have stalled the previous day's modest decline from its highest level since February 2012. Meanwhile, the technical setup favors bullish traders and suggests that the path of least resistance for the white metal is to the upside. A sustained strength beyond the $36.45-$36.50 mark confirms a breakout through a short-term descending trend channel, which constitutes the formation of a bullish flag pattern. Moreover, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) on the...
The Japanese Yen (JPY) reversed modest Asian session gains against the broadly stronger USD and remained near monthly lows retested earlier this week. The Bank of Japan's (BOJ) cautious approach to winding down its decade-long monetary stimulus forced investors to push back their expectations about the likely timing of the next interest rate hike to Q1 2026. Additionally, concerns about the potential economic impact of the US's 25% tariffs on Japanese vehicles and a reciprocal 24% levy on other imports turned out to be key factors undermining the JPY. The USD, on the other hand, rose to...
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....