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...
Gold prices dropped on Friday and were poised for their steepest weekly decline in six months, as a stronger dollar and waning trade war concerns dampened its appeal as a safe-haven asset. Spot gold was down 0.8% at $3,213.56 an ounce, as of 0429 GMT. Bullion has lost 3.3% so far this week and is set for its worst weekly performance since November 2024. U.S. gold futures shed 0.3% to $3,217.20. The dollar (.DXY), opens new tab has gained 0.4% for the week so far and was headed for its fourth straight weekly gain, making greenback-priced gold more expensive for overseas buyers. "Gold...
USD/CHF remained depressed near the 0.8360 level on Thursday, extending its consolidation in this week's range. The pair struggled to gain traction amid mixed US economic data and a resilient Swiss economy. In the United States, retail sales in April rose by 0.1% to $724.1 billion, slightly above market expectations for an unchanged reading, while the previous month's reading was revised up to 1.5% from 1.4%. However, the Producer Price Index (PPI) for final demand rose only 2.4% year-on-year, falling below the 2.5% forecast and down from 2.7% in March. This marked a significant slowdown in...
Silver (XAG/USD) eased from its recent gains seen in the previous session, holding around $32.50 during Asian trading hours on Friday (5/16). The metal came under pressure, possibly due to a Financial Times report suggesting that the Trump administration is planning to add several Chinese semiconductor firms to its export blacklist, known as the "entity list." Silver's growing association with the chipmaking industry—due to its critical role in the production of electronics and semiconductors—has heightened market sensitivity to the development. Meanwhile, safe-haven demand for precious...
Oil steadied after two days of losses as a potential nuclear deal between the U.S. and Iran risked worsening forecasts of a supply glut for later this year. West Texas Intermediate was trading near $62 a barrel after dropping 2.4% on Thursday in its biggest daily drop this month, while Brent closed below $65. President Donald Trump signaled the U.S. was getting closer to a deal to curb Iran's nuclear activities. The nuclear deal raises the prospect of limited additional supply from Iran, but it would come to a market already set for a surplus. The International Energy Agency reiterated on...
Gold is retracing some of the steep losses it suffered earlier this week, after bond yields plunged on weak U.S. economic data that raised bets on further Federal Reserve interest rate cuts. Bullion edged up to trade near $3,245 an ounce, following a 2% gain on Thursday boosted by a report showing U.S. producer prices unexpectedly fell by the most in five years, while separate data showed retail sales barely rose. Treasury yields fell on signs of waning economic activity and fading inflation, raising expectations for monetary easing. Lower borrowing costs and yields tend to benefit...
EUR/USD whipsawed on Thursday, briefly dipping back below the 50-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) and tapping the 1.1000 level for the second time in a week. A late recovery pushed Fiber bids back to where they started the trading day, near the 1.1200 handle. Pan-European Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures for the first quarter ticked slightly lower on the near end of the curve, dipping to 0.3% QoQ. Annualized GDP still held steady at 1.2% YoY, but a soft patch in the Q1 data is still giving Fiber traders a reason to pause. In the US, the Producer Price Index (PPI) inflation decreased...
AUD/USD came under further downside pressure on Thursday, adding to Wednesday's retracement and briefly dipping below the key support at 0.6400 the figure. The pair's pullback came despite decent losses in the Greenback and firmer Australian labour market report. AUD/USD slipped under renewed selling pressure despite a continued softening in the US Dollar (USD) on Thursday. The Australian Dollar (AUD) continued to fade part of Tuesday's sharp rebound, this time retreating below its critical 200-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) near 0.6460. Traders appear increasingly focused on the...
Oil prices settled lower on Thursday on expectations for a U.S.-Iran nuclear deal that could result in sanctions being eased and more barrels released onto the global market. Brent crude futures settled down $1.56, or 2.36%, to $64.53 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures settled down $1.53, or 2.42%, to $61.62. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the U.S. was getting close to securing a nuclear deal with Iran, and Tehran had "sort of" agreed to the terms. An Iranian official told NBC News in an interview published on Wednesday that Iran was willing to agree...
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....