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 fell more than 1% on Tuesday (December 2) as investors took profits after hitting a six-week high in the previous session, while they awaited key US economic data ahead of next week's Federal Reserve policy meeting. Spot gold fell 1.4% to $4,173.91 an ounce at 11:09 a.m. ET (16:09 GMT). US gold futures for February delivery fell 1.6% to $4,205.10 an ounce. "This is probably just a little profit-taking; the biggest focus of the market lately has been expectations of a rate cut, and those expectations remain fairly stable," said Peter Grant, vice president and senior metals...
Silver weakened from its record high, with technical indicators suggesting a six-day rally pushing the precious metal into overbought territory. Gold also weakened. The white metal slumped as much as 2.4% before paring some losses in US trading. Traders had been betting on continued tight supply and expectations of another US interest rate cut – a boost for the non-yielding precious metal. Looking at the 14-day relative strength index, a measure of overbought conditions, silver surged above 70, a level often considered an indication of overheated momentum. Silver is experiencing a...
Oil prices fluctuated amid volatile trading as escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine raised the possibility of further supply disruptions. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude prices started the day down 1.75%, trading near $58 per barrel. Prices briefly turned positive after Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened potential retaliatory action against ships from countries that aided Ukraine in Moscow's war, according to Interfax. "Today's news releases should be highly sensitive to headlines, and the path of least resistance still looks lower," said Rebecca Babin, senior...
The dollar strengthened slightly in early December trading, a historically difficult period for the US currency. G-10 currencies traded in tight ranges with little US data available and Federal Reserve officials in a quiet period ahead of next week's meeting. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.1% in New York trading, after posting a slight gain on Monday. "There is little room for the USD to extend this rebound at this point," given "Fed policy expectations/focus on a possible leadership change/seasonal trends," wrote Shaun Osborne, chief currency strategist at Scotiabank, on...
Oil prices held firm on Tuesday as traders weighed up risks from Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian energy sites and mounting U.S.-Venezuela tension. Brent crude futures fell 19 cents, or 0.3%, to $62.98 a barrel by 0903 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was down 12 cents, or 0.2%, to stand at $20 a barrel. Both benchmarks advanced more than 1% on Monday, while WTI was near a two-week high. While prompt prices seemed rangebound, the geopolitical risk premium seems to have built again due to the situations around the Black Sea and Venezuela, said Ole Hansen, head of commodity...
Gold (XAU/USD) remains depressed through the early European session on Monday, though it manages to defend the $4,200 mark amid mixed fundamental cues. A generally positive tone around the equity markets undermines demand for traditional safe-haven assets and drags the precious metal away from its highest level since October 20, touched on Monday. However, dovish US Federal Reserve (Fed) expectations act as a tailwind for the non-yielding yellow metal and help limit further losses. Investors now seem convinced that the US central bank will lower borrowing costs again at its upcoming policy...
The Japanese yen exchange rate fell to around 155.7 per US dollar on Tuesday (December 2nd) after strengthening for three sessions. This weakening occurred because many traders chose to take profits from the previous rally. Previously, the yen had strengthened due to growing speculation that the Bank of Japan (BOJ) could raise interest rates in the near future, signaling a possible change in its monetary policy direction. Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said that the government and the BOJ share a similar economic outlook. He also emphasized the importance of close coordination between...
Silver retreated from a record high, with a key technical indicator showing that a six-day rally has taken it into overbought territory. Gold also edged down. The white metal fell as much as 2.4% to around two dollars below the all-time peak reached in the previous session. Traders have been betting on continued supply tightness and expectations for another interest-rate cut in the US, a tailwind for non-yielding precious metals. The 14-day relative strength index, however, showed that this recent speculative fervor may have gone too far, too fast. A reading of above 70 shows that the...
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....