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 prices slipped on Tuesday as traders weighed the impact on supply from Russia-Ukraine peace talks and US-Iran negotiations, strong front-month physical demand in Asia and a cautious outlook for China's economy. Brent futures for July dipped 19 cents to $65.35 a barrel by 0625 GMT. June U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures, which expire on Tuesday, gained 3 cents to $62.72, while the more active July contract slipped 17 cents to $61.97 a barrel. Discussions on Iran's nuclear programme would "lead nowhere" if Washington insisted that Tehran slash uranium enrichment activity...
Gold prices eased on Tuesday, as a slightly firmer dollar and optimism over a potential ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine dampened demand for safe-haven assets. Spot gold was down 0.5% at $3,214.17 an ounce as of 0627 GMT. U.S. gold futures slipped 0.6% to $3,215.60. The dollar slightly recovered after touching a more-than-one-week low in the prior session, making greenback-priced gold less appealing to holders of other currencies. "We are seeing a knee-jerk response to the U.S. credit downgrade wear off and there's some hope of a truce between Ukraine and Russia," said Kyle Rodda,...
The dollar index fell to 100.1 on Tuesday, marking a near two-week low and extending a 0.7% decline from the previous session, as renewed concerns over the US economic and fiscal outlook weighed on sentiment. Traders also remained focused on potential developments in global trade negotiations. Over the weekend, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reaffirmed that President Trump intends to impose tariffs at the rates threatened last month, on trading partners that fail to engage in "good faith" negotiations. Adding to fiscal anxiety, Moody's downgraded the US rating from Aaa to Aa1 on Friday,...
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback against a basket of currencies, oscillates in a range around the 100.35 area through the Asian session on Tuesday and remains close to over a one-week low touched the previous day. Moreover, the lack of any buying interest and a bearish fundamental backdrop suggests that the path of least resistance for the index remains to the downside. Traders increased their bets for further interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve (Fed) in 2025 following last week's softer-than-expected release of the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the Producer...
The Australian Dollar (AUD) dips against the US Dollar (USD) on Tuesday, following a gain of over 0.50% in the previous session. The AUD/USD pair remains under pressure after the interest rate decisions from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and the People's Bank of China (PBoC). The RBA board voted to cut the Official Cash Rate (OCR) by 25 basis points, reducing it from 4.1% to 3.85% at the conclusion of its May monetary policy meeting. The move was largely expected by markets. The PBoC announced a reduction in its Loan Prime Rates (LPRs) on Tuesday. The one-year LPR was lowered from...
Silver price continues its decline for the third consecutive session, trading near $32.20 per troy ounce during Tuesday's Asian session. The metal's weakness comes as optimism over a potential ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine reduces demand for safe-haven assets. Reuters reported that US President Donald Trump stated on Monday that following a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukraine and Russia are set to begin immediate ceasefire negotiations, potentially without US involvement. This development has pressured precious metals, including Silver, which typically benefit from...
GBP/USD continues its upward momentum for the second consecutive session, hovering near 1.3360 during Asian trading hours on Tuesday. The Pound Sterling (GBP) is strengthening as the US Dollar (USD) softens in response to Moody's Ratings downgrading the US credit rating from Aaa to Aa1. This downgrade echoes similar actions by Fitch Ratings in 2023 and Standard & Poor's in 2011. Moody's now anticipates that US federal debt will rise to approximately 134% of GDP by 2035, up from 98% in 2023, while projecting the federal budget deficit to widen to nearly 9% of GDP. The downgrade reflects...
The Japanese (JPY) weakens across the board on Tuesday, assisting the USD/JPY pair to reverse the previous day's slide to over a one-week low and climb back to mid-145.00s during the Asian session. A surprise downgrade of the US government's credit rating on Friday appeared to have a modest impact on the global risk sentiment. This is evident from a generally positive tone around the equity markets, which is seen as a key factor undermining demand for the safe-haven JPY. Any meaningful JPY downfall, however, seems elusive in the wake of the growing acceptance that the Bank of Japan (BoJ)...
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....