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...
The EUR/USD pair attracts some buyers to around 1.0980 during the Asian session on Thursday. The Euro (EUR) edges higher against the Greenback as German conservative leader agreed on a coalition deal with the center-left Social Democrats on Wednesday. The US March Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation report will be the highlight later on Thursday. On Wednesday, German conservatives under Friedrich Merz clinched a coalition deal with the center-left Social Democrats (SPD) to boost growth in Europe's biggest economy amid a global trade war that threatens recession. This development is likely...
Oil prices retreated on Thursday as U.S. President Donald Trump ramped up a trade war with China, even as he announced a 90-day pause on tariffs aimed at other countries. Brent futures fell 77 cents, or 1.18%, to $64.71 a barrel by 0320 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 65 cents, or 1.04%, to $61.70. Following the tariff pause for most countries, the benchmark crude contracts had settled 4% higher on Wednesday after dropping as much as 7% during the session. Trump, however, raised the tariff rate for China to 125% effective immediately, from the previously...
The GBP/USD pair recovers its daily losses and continues its winning streak for the third successive session, hovering around 1.2850 during Asian trading hours on Thursday. The British Pound (GBP) came under pressure following the release of weaker-than-expected data from the RICS Housing Price Balance, which showed just a 2% increase in March. This marked a significant slowdown from the 20% and 11% gains recorded in January and February, respectively, and fell far short of the anticipated 8% rise highlighting a stagnation in price growth over recent months. Further weighing on the British...
The Japanese Yen (JPY) sticks to intraday gains led by the stronger-than-expected release of the Producer Price Index (PPI), which keeps the door open for further rate hikes by the Bank of Japan (BoJ). Furthermore, the optimism that Japan might strike a trade deal with the US turns out to be another factor underpinning the JPY. The US Dollar (USD), on the other hand, fails to capitalize on the overnight modest recovery against its Japanese counterpart and drags the USD/JPY pair drags the USD/JPY pair back below the 147.00 mark during the Asian session on Thursday. Meanwhile, hawkish BoJ...
Australian Dollar (AUD) regained its ground against the US Dollar (USD) on Thursday following the news that Australia is gearing up for renewed trade negotiations with the European Union (EU). The EU decided to revisit the stalled talks. During a one-hour video meeting on Wednesday evening, EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic suggested setting a new timeline to restart discussions with his Australian counterpart, Don Farrell. The previous round of extensive negotiations broke down two years ago due to disagreements over agricultural access to the EU's 450 million consumers. The AUD/USD...
The Gold price (XAU/USD) edges higher to around $3,080 during the early Asian session on Wednesday. The safe-haven demand amid escalating trade tensions between the United States and China provides some support to the precious metal. US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he authorized a 90-day pause on new tariffs for most US trade partners to 10% to allow trade negotiations with those countries. However, Trump raised the tariffs imposed on imports from China to 125% "effective immediately" due to the "lack of respect that China has shown to the World's Markets." The economic...
The dollar index held steady around 102.8 on Thursday after a sharp intraday rebound in the previous session, as President Trump announced a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs for countries that have not retaliated. The move offered key US trading partners a window for negotiations in a welcome relief amid a dimming economic outlook. Still, Trump raised tariffs on Chinese imports to 125% in response to retaliatory measures from Beijing. The EU, which has announced its own countermeasures, may also be excluded from the tariff pause. While the tariff reprieve provided short-term support for...
Silver price (XAG/USD) continues to climb for the second straight day, trading near $31.10 per troy ounce during Thursday's Asian session. The grey metal surged nearly 4% in the previous session, fueled by renewed safe-haven demand following escalating US-China trade tensions. US President Donald Trump announced an immediate hike in tariffs on Chinese imports to 125%, shortly after China raised reciprocal duties on US goods to 84%. This tit-for-tat escalation overshadowed a broader trade de-escalation effort, where the US had temporarily lowered tariffs to 10% for 90 days to facilitate...
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....