Oil prices held steady on Thursday (September 11th) as concerns over weakening US demand and the risk of a wider oversupply were offset by concerns over attacks in the Middle East and Russia's war in Ukraine. Brent crude futures fell 13 cents, or 0.2%, to $67.36 per barrel at 07:29 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 17 cents, or 0.3%, to $63.50. Benchmark crude prices rose more than $1 per contract on Wednesday following Israel's attack on Hamas leaders in Qatar the previous day and the mobilization of Polish and NATO air defenses to shoot down a suspected Russian...
The Japanese Yen (JPY) maintained its bullish bias through the early European session on Wednesday (February 5), with the USD/JPY pair holding just above the 153.00 mark, its lowest level since December 13. A rise in Japanese real wages reaffirmed bets that the Bank of Japan (BOJ) will raise interest rates again, which in turn, provided a strong boost to the JPY. Moreover, prospects for further policy easing by the Federal Reserve (Fed) would result in a further narrowing of the interest rate differential between the US and Japan. This turned out to be another factor driving flows towards...
The Australian dollar (AUD) weakened against the US dollar (USD) amid rising risk aversion amid growing concerns over US-China trade tensions. The AUD/USD pair failed to gain support from the Judo Bank Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) released on Wednesday. The Judo Bank Australia Composite PMI rose to 51.1 in January from 50.2 in December, reflecting modest growth in private sector activity. Meanwhile, the Judo Bank Services PMI rose to 51.2 from 50.8, marking the twelfth straight month of expansion in the services sector. Despite the modest growth, it was the strongest since August. The...
Gold prices (XAU/USD) continued to rise throughout the Asian session on Wednesday (5/2) and climbed to an all-time high, around the $2,858 region in the last hour. Concerns about the economic impact of US President Donald Trump's trade tariffs continued to support demand for the safe-haven bullion. Further, expectations that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will maintain its easing cycle, supported by signs of slowing momentum in the US labor market, contributed to driving flows towards the non-yielding yellow metal. Meanwhile, the US Dollar (USD) languished near weekly lows amid prospects of...
Oil prices were little changed on Wednesday after volatile trading in the previous session as investors shrugged off the impact of China's tariffs on U.S. energy imports though President Donald Trump's renewed push to eliminate Iranian crude exports provided some support. Brent crude futures were down 18 cents, or 0.24%, at $76.02 a barrel by 0210 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) lost 9 cents, or 0.12%, to $72.61. Oil on Tuesday traded in a wide range, with WTI falling at one point by 3%, its lowest since Dec. 31, after China announced tariffs on U.S. imports of oil, liquefied...
Gold rose to a record high, after advancing by almost 1% in the previous session, as the opening salvos of the US-China trade war stoked haven demand. Bullion reached an all-time peak of $2,849.05 an ounce on Wednesday. That came after President Donald Trump hit Chinese imports with a 10% tariff the day before, prompting a swift but more targeted retaliation from Beijing. The response from China was relatively muted compared to Trump's first term, when Beijing hit back with tariffs that were almost on par with the US, but there's still plenty of trepidation about the...
The Australian and New Zealand dollars clung to gains on Wednesday ahead of the resumption of trade in Chinese markets, where eyes are on Beijing's fixing of the yuan midpoint rate following the outbreak of Donald Trump's trade war. The dollar was on the back foot in the early Asian session, giving some respite to heavily battered currencies like the euro, which bounced back above the $1.02 level and last bought $1.0374. Volatility in currency markets eased a little on Wednesday after a turbulent start of the week following Trump's imposition of steep tariffs on top U.S. trading partners,...
Gold reached a record high of $2,845 late Tuesday during the North American session as the US Dollar tumbled, weighed down by falling US Treasury bond yields. The "trade war" between the United States (US) and China sparked a flight to the yellow metal's safe-haven status. The XAU/USD trades at $2,843, up more than 1%. Geopolitical issues are driving bullion prices. Although US President Donald Trump delayed tariffs on Mexico and Canada, duties of 10% on Chinese goods kicked in, sparking retaliatory actions by China. China applied tariffs on specific products, such as coal, Liquefied...
Oil prices steadied after falling on concerns that the U.S.-China trade war would hurt global growth, offset by President Donald Trump's increasing economic pressure on Iran. West Texas Intermediate crude was trading below $73 a barrel after a rocky start to the week as markets were rattled by tariff announcements and subsequent delays. Brent crude settled above $76. Trump has sought to use sanctions and tougher enforcement of existing measures to increase pressure on Tehran On Tuesday, Beijing issued a swift but calculated retaliation to Trump's levies, which so far appear to be...
Gold (XAU/USD) is extending its decline on Wednesday for a second consecutive day as the US Dollar (USD) and US Treasury yields firm ahead of the release of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC)...
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....