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 Japanese yen held firm around 142.9 on Thursday, after gaining nearly 1% in the previous session, supported by broad dollar weakness following disappointing US economic data. Recent indicators showed a sharp slowdown in private-sector hiring and an unexpected contraction in the US services sector, stoking fears that trade policy uncertainty is beginning to weigh on the broader economy. Domestically, data revealed a fourth consecutive decline in real wages in April, as inflation continued to outpace nominal wage growth. This deepens concerns over Japan's economic outlook, especially as...
The Australian dollar held its recent gains around $0.649 on Thursday, as a weaker US dollar and an uptick in China's services PMI outweighed a decline in domestic trade balance. The greenback remained under pressure amid soft US economic data, with traders awaiting trade and jobless claims figures later in the day. The Aussie found further support after China's Caixin Services PMI, a key indicator from its largest trading partner, rose to 51.1 in May from 50.7 in April, signaling continued expansion. Meanwhile, Australia's trade surplus narrowed to AUD 5.41 billion in April, below...
Brent crude oil futures traded below $65 per barrel on Thursday, holding losses from the previous session amid rising concerns over a global oil oversupply. Key oil producer Saudi Arabia is pushing for a significant increase in OPEC+ output at least 411,000 barrels per day in August, and possibly in September in a bid to capture market share during peak summer demand. The kingdom also cut its July crude prices for Asian buyers to near four-year lows, signaling softer demand from the region. While official US data showed a decline in crude inventories, gasoline and distillate stockpiles...
The US dollar index remained under pressure below 99 on Thursday, as investors awaited fresh labor market data that could shape expectations for future Federal Reserve policy moves. Markets are focused on Thursday's weekly jobless claims and Friday's closely watched nonfarm payrolls report. The greenback came under renewed selling pressure on Wednesday after a string of disappointing economic indicators raised concerns about the strength of the US economy. Notably, the ADP employment report showed the private sector added just 37K jobs in May—well below forecasts and marking the weakest...
Gold held gains, after weaker-than-expected US data reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates at least twice this year to prevent a recession. Bullion traded near $3,375 an ounce, following a 0.6% increase on Wednesday, after separate reports showed a contraction in US service providers and a deceleration in hiring. Treasury yields fell after the prints, with swap traders pricing in two Fed reductions in October and December. Lower rates are typically a tailwind for gold, which doesn't bear interest. Elsewhere, fears...
The dollar fell across the board on Wednesday after weaker-than-expected U.S. private payrolls highlighted continued slack in the labor market and data showed the U.S. services sector contracted for the first time in about a year in May. U.S. private payrolls rose by just 37,000 jobs in May, much less than expected, after a downwardly revised 60,000 gain in April, the ADP National Employment Report showed on Wednesday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast private employment rising by 110,000 after a previously reported gain of 62,000 in April. U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated...
EUR/USD strengthened on Wednesday (04/06), edging up more than 0.42% as the greenback erased Tuesday's gains following the release of weaker-than-expected economic data from the United States (US). This, coupled with uncertainty fueled by the trade war, pushed the pair past the 1.1400 mark after hitting a daily low of 1.1356. On Tuesday night, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order doubling steel and aluminum tariffs from 25% to 50%, effective June 4, for most countries, except the UK, which remains at 25%. Meanwhile, traders are gearing up for Trump's phone call with Chinese...
Oil prices settled down just over 1% on Wednesday after U.S. data showed surprisingly large build in gasoline and diesel inventories, swelling fuel supplies with OPEC+ planning more output and trade tensions clouding the energy demand outlook. Brent crude futures closed down 77 cents, or 1.2%, at $64.86 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude settled 56 cents, or 0.9% lower at $62.85. U.S. gasoline stocks swelled by 5.2 million barrels, the Energy Information Administration said. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected a rise of 600,000 barrels. Distillate stockpiles rose by 4.2...
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....