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 Australian dollar depreciated past $0.649 on Thursday, extending its decline from the previous session as risk sentiment soured amid fresh tariff threats from US President Donald Trump. On Wednesday, he announced plans to dispatch official letters to major trading partners within the next one to two weeks, outlining unilateral tariffs aimed at compelling countries to negotiate trade deals. Adding pressure on the Aussie dollar were rising expectations of further interest rate cuts by the Reserve Bank of Australia. Markets price in an 80% chance of a 25 bps cut to 3.60% at the July 8...
Gold prices rose on Thursday, bolstered by rising tensions in the Middle East and a weaker dollar, while softer-than-expected U.S. inflation data boosted expectations of Federal Reserve rate cuts. Spot gold was up 0.6% at $3,372.46 an ounce, as of 0202 GMT. U.S. gold futures gained 1.5% to $3,393. The U.S. dollar index (.DXY), opens new tab fell to a near two-month low, making greenback-priced bullion more attractive to overseas buyers. The weakness in the dollar index serves as a strong catalyst, said Kelvin Wong, a senior market analyst, Asia Pacific at OANDA, adding that gold faced...
The dollar slid on Thursday on further signs that U.S. President Donald Trump may adopt a softer stance in tariff negotiations and heightened expectations of Federal Reserve rate cuts. Trump said on Wednesday he would be willing to extend a July 8 deadline for completing trade talks with countries before higher U.S. tariffs are imposed. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested earlier that the Trump administration may offer extensions from a July trade deal deadline for countries negotiating in good faith. The remarks renewed dollar weakness, lifting the euro to a seven-week high....
Oil rises in early Asian trade amid Middle East tensions that could lead to supply disruptions. The U.S. is moving to reduce its presence in parts of Middle East to essential personnel, State Department and Pentagon said Wednesday, as tensions in the region increase. Also, data released overnight by U.S. EIA showed commercial crude-oil stocks excluding Strategic Petroleum Reserve fell by 3.6 million barrels in the week ended June 6. Analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had forecast a 1.6 million-barrel decline in crude stockpiles. Front-month WTI crude oil futures are 0.4% higher...
Gold edges higher in the early Asian session amid geopolitical tensions that typically enhance the safe-haven appeal of the precious metal. The U.S. is moving to scale down its presence in parts of Middle East to essential personnel, State Department and Pentagon said Wednesday, as tensions in the region rise. The tensions come before the sixth round of nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran scheduled this weekend in Oman. Ongoing hostilities in the Middle East continue to weigh on investor confidence, says Bas Kooijman, CEO and Asset Manager of DHF Capital, in an email. Spot gold is 0.2%...
The EUR/USD surged during the North American session but remains shy of clearing the 1.1500 figure, following the release of a softer-than-expected inflation report in the United States (US), which could prompt the Federal Reserve (Fed) to reduce borrowing costs in the near term. At the time of writing, the pair trades at 1.1482, up by over 0.50%. US data revealed that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in May fell short of estimates as prices continued to trend lower. Following the data release, US President Donald Trump posted on his social network that the Fed should lower the fed funds rate...
Oil prices rose more than 4% on Wednesday, to their highest in more than two months, after sources said the U.S. was preparing to evacuate its Iraqi embassy due to heightened security concerns in the Middle East. Brent crude futures settled $2.90, or 4.34%, higher to $69.77 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained $3.17, or 4.88%, to $68.15. Both Brent and WTI reached their highest since early April. Surprised traders bought crude futures on reports the U.S. was preparing to evacuate its embassy in Iraq, OPEC's No. 2 crude producer after Saudi Arabia. A U.S. official said...
Gold prices posted modest gains of over 0.22% on Wednesday as the latest inflation report in the United States (US) revealed that prices are cooling. Hence, investors increased their bets that the Federal Reserve (Fed) would resume its easing cycle in September. The XAU/USD trades at $3,327. May's Consumer Price Index (CPI) in the US provided an opportunity for Gold buyers. The print dipped compared to April's data, and Bullion prices spiked toward a daily peak of $3,360 – in the headline – before erasing those gains. Uncertainty around negotiations between the US and China will most...
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....