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 dollar index fell below 104.5 on Thursday, paring gains from the previous session as investors weighed the impact of Trump's new auto tariffs. Late Wednesday, President Trump announced a 25 percent tariff on all imported cars and light trucks, which will go into effect on April 2, along with reciprocal tariffs on countries with levies on U.S. goods—measures he has vowed to maintain during his second term. The escalating trade war has stoked concerns about slower U.S. economic growth and renewed inflationary pressures, unsettling financial markets. U.S. consumer confidence plunged to its...
The Australian Dollar (AUD) remains under pressure against the US Dollar (USD) for the second consecutive day on Thursday, as risk-off sentiment rises amid concerns over impending US auto tariffs. The AUD/USD pair weakened following President Donald Trump's decision late Wednesday to impose a 25% tariff on auto imports, further escalating global trade tensions. The tariffs are set to take effect on April 2, with collection beginning the following day. President Trump suggested plans on Wednesday to impose tariffs on copper imports within weeks, although the Commerce Department initially had...
Oil continued to rise after U.S. crude inventories fell the most since December, signaling a near-term supply squeeze. West Texas Intermediate was trading near $70 a barrel after closing 0.9% higher on Wednesday, while Brent settled below $74. U.S. stockpiles fell by 3.34 million barrels last week, the lowest in a month, while gasoline inventories also fell, government data showed. Oil has been on an upward trend since early March as sanctions and tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump raised the prospect of supply disruptions from producers including Iran and Venezuela. That prompted...
Gold edged higher in early Asian trade, supported by the prospect of rising investor demand. "The Shanghai gold exchange has accepted four Chinese life insurers as exchange members, allowing them to buy gold as part of a pilot program that could expand the network of gold buyers and create a major new buying impulse," TD Securities' Daniel Ghali said in a research note. The four life insurers have combined assets of nearly CNY13 trillion and represent nearly two-thirds of the potential buying impulse from the pilot program, the senior commodity strategist added. Spot gold edged up 0.1% to...
EUR/USD remains on their toes as the outlook of the Euro (EUR) is uncertain amid growing expectations that the European Central Bank (ECB) would cut interest rates again. The Eurozone economy is expected to face significant downside economic risks after the imposition of reciprocal tariffs by US President Trump. Trump had signaled plenty of times that he will impose tariffs on the Eurozone for not buying enough American goods. Such a scenario will be negative for the old continent. Historically, economies move to strengthen their domestic economy by lowering interest rates when external...
Oil prices rose on Wednesday, buoyed by government data showing U.S. crude oil and fuel inventories fell last week and by mounting concerns about tighter global supply following the U.S. threat of tariffs on nations buying Venezuelan crude. Brent crude futures settled up 77 cents, or 1.05%, at $73.79 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures settled up 65 cents, or 0.94%, at $69.65 a barrel. At their session highs, both benchmarks were up more than $1 a barrel. U.S. crude oil inventories fell last week as refiners kept ramping up production, while gasoline and distillate...
Gold price has flat-lined late in the North American session, capped by the recovery of the US Dollar Index (DXY), which fell to a low of 104.18 before staging a recovery. The move was sponsored by the White House, which said that President Donald Trump would announce automobile tariffs at around 22:00 GMT. At the time of writing, XAU/USD trades at $3,019, virtually unchanged. Bullion traders failed to gain traction on headlines that Trump is considering announcing limited tariff plans and automotive tariffs, according to The Wall Street Journal. In the meantime, the US Dollar Index (DXY),...
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the value of the US Dollar against a basket of currencies, is holding near the 104.30 zone during Wednesday's session. A better than expected print in February's Durable Goods Orders, coupled with hawkish rhetoric from Fed officials, is helping the Greenback edge higher. However, momentum indicators remain conflicted, hinting at a still fragile upside. Daily digest market movers: US Dollar steadies as data, Fed comments offset risk sentiment shiftThe Greenback benefits from stronger than forecast US Durable Goods Orders for February, which also saw...
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....