Oil prices are headed for their biggest weekly gain since June after the US imposed sanctions on major Russian producers Rosneft and Lukoil, potentially disrupting supply and shifting demand to alternative grades. Brent oil hovered near $66 per barrel after surging 5.4% in the previous session, while WTI held below $62. Russian oil flows to India are expected to plummet due to the sanctions, while the impact on Chinese purchases remains unclear. President Donald Trump plans to raise the issue of China's purchases of Russian oil when he meets with President Xi next week. Russia may offer...
Gold prices rallied on Friday (September 20th) and headed for a fifth straight weekly gain, with market attention focused on further cues after the US Federal Reserve's first interest rate cut of the year. Spot gold rose 0.8% to $3,672.08 an ounce at 1:36 PM EDT (17:36 GMT). Prices have risen 0.8% so far this week. US gold futures for December delivery closed up 0.7% at $3,705.80. The US central bank cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points on Wednesday, but tempered the move with a warning about persistent inflation, raising doubts about the pace of future easing. Following the...
Gold prices (XAU/USD) edged higher on Friday, halting a two-day decline, trading around $3,663 in the US session. This move followed a wild midweek reaction to the Fed's interest rate decision. On Wednesday, the Fed cut interest rates by 25 basis points to 4.00%–4.25%—a move fully anticipated by the market. Gold briefly touched a record near $3,707, but quickly corrected after Jerome Powell's less dovish press conference, triggering a recovery in the US dollar and Treasury yields. Powell emphasized that there was no need to act quickly, calling the cut a "risk-management cut" to mitigate...
Oil prices weakened for a third day, dragged down by expectations of a large global supply surplus next year. Brent traded near $67/barrel in London, with the market assessing that OPEC+ production recovery and rising output from competitors could build inventories, holding prices within a narrow range. Concerns about supply disruptions from Russia provided limited support. Ukraine's attack on energy infrastructure—including two refineries on Thursday—has pushed Russian processing capacity below 5 million bpd, the lowest since April 2022 (JPMorgan estimates). However, the narrative of a...
EUR/USD is heading lower for the third day in a row, trading at 1.1775 at the time of writing on Friday, down from the four-year highs above 1.1900 hit earlier this week. A larger-than-expected decline in weekly US Initial Jobless Claims and a sharp rebound in the Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Survey provided additional support to the US Dollar on Wednesday. In Europe, the calendar has been light, but a new wave of anti-austerity protests is gathering strength in France, which is adding weight to the Euro (EUR). Hundreds of thousands of people gathered in France's main cities on Thursday...
Gold prices edged higher on Friday, poised for a fifth consecutive weekly gain, following the U.S. Federal Reserve's first rate cut of the year, while investors awaited further signals on the U.S. policy outlook. Spot gold was up 0.2% at $3,650.89 per ounce as of 0817 GMT. Bullion is up 0.2% so far this week. U.S. gold futures for December delivery rose 0.1% to $3,683.40. "The Fed policy outlook remains the primary driving force for bullion bugs, even as the precious metals enjoys tremendous support from central bank purchases and safe haven demand; any dips below $3,600 are bound to be...
Oil prices slipped lower Friday on growing concerns over slowing U.S. demand, but were still on track for weekly gains as the Federal Reserve's rate cut could spur consumption. At 04:50 ET (08:50 GMT), Brent oil futures for November fell 0.5% to $67.11 a barrel, and West Texas Intermediate crude futures dropped 0.7% to $63.10 a barrel. Both benchmarks were on course for small gains this week as increased hostilities between Russia and Ukraine spurred bets on more supply disruptions. That said, President Trump has called for lower oil prices to pressure Moscow to end the war in Ukraine....
The Australian Dollar (AUD) edges lower against the US Dollar (USD) on Friday, extending its losses for the third successive session. The AUD/USD pair remains subdued as the US Dollar gains support after the release of the United States (US) Weekly Initial Jobless Claims on Thursday. The AUD also struggled after a weaker-than-expected jobs report, which showed that Australia's seasonally adjusted Employment Change arrived at -5.4K in August from 26.5K in July (revised from 24.5K), compared with the consensus forecast of 22K. Meanwhile, the Unemployment Rate steadied at 4.2% in August, as...
The Silver price (XAG/USD) gains ground to around $41.90 during the Asian trading hours on Friday. The white metal finds support from the US Federal Reserve (Fed) rate cuts. As widely expected, the Fed decided to cut its benchmark interest rate at its September meeting on Wednesday, the first time since December, and signaled more reductions are likely this year. Fed Chair Jerome Powell pointed to growing signs of weakness in the labor market to explain why officials decided it was time to cut rates after holding them steady since December amid concerns over tariff-driven inflation. Lower...
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....