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 US Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the value of the US Dollar (USD) against a basket of currencies, is trading stronger against major peers on Thursday, avoiding further downside pressure. Traders remain focused on the Federal Reserve's (Fed) latest policy stance, which reinforced expectations for two rate cuts in 2025. Despite stronger economic data, the index remains confined within the 103.00–104.00 range.US Dollar rises as Fed keeps rates steady and geopolitical risks intensifyThe Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged, reaffirming projections for two rate cuts in 2025.Fed...
The British Pound (GBP) depreciated against the US Dollar (USD) after the Bank of England (BoE) decided to keep rates unchanged and warned about interest rate cuts due to "a lot of economic uncertainty at the moment," said BoE Governor Andrew Bailey. At the time of writing, GBP/USD is trading at 1.2964, down 0.29%. Sterling falls 0.29% as Bailey warns of economic uncertainty, dissent emerges within BoETraders are still digesting the BoE's decision, which wasn't unanimous, with Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) member Swati Dhingra being the dissenter, with her voting for a 25 basis points...
Gold price retreats on Thursday as bulls take a breather following the Federal Reserve's (Fed) latest monetary policy decision and an escalation of hostilities in the Middle East. The XAU/USD trades at $3,042, down over 0.19%. Market sentiment turned negative, while the Greenback stages a recovery as depicted by the US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks a basket of six currencies against the buck. Gold traders failed to drive prices higher, even though the Fed held rates unchanged at the 4.25%–4.50% range for the second consecutive meeting. Officials added that they will slow down the pace...
The USD/JPY pair moves higher to near 149.00 in North American trading hours on Thursday. The pair gains as the US Dollar (USD) rallies sharply in the aftermath of the Federal Reserve's (Fed) monetary policy outcome. The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback's value against six major currencies, jumps to near 104.00 after attracting significant bids near the five-month low of 103.20. On Wednesday, the Fed kept interest rates unchanged in the range of 4.25%-4.50%, as expected, for the second time in a row. The central bank also maintained its forecast of two interest rate cuts...
Oil prices rose on Thursday after the United States issued new Iran-related sanctions and renewed tensions in the Middle East countered strength in the dollar. Brent crude futures were up $1.03, or 1.46%, to $71.83 a barrel at 12:13 p.m. EDT (1613 GMT). The U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) contract for April, expiring on Thursday, rose $1.07 to $68.23. The more actively traded WTI May contract rose 99 cents, or 1.48%, to $67.90, having risen more than $1 during the session. The U.S. on Thursday issued new Iran-related sanctions, targeting entities including for the first time a...
The AUD/USD pair plummets to near 0.6280 during North American trading hours on Thursday. The Aussie pair faces an intense sell-off as the Australian Dollar (AUD) underperforms its peers due to weak employment data for February.The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that the labor force unexpectedly witnessed a massive lay-off. Australian employers fired 52.8K workers, while economists expected a fresh addition of 30K. In January, the economy added 30.5K payrolls, downwardly revised from 44K. The Unemployment Rate remains steady at 4.1%, as expectedWeak employment data has resulted in...
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the performance of the US Dollar (USD) against six major currencies, rallies above 104.00 on Thursday after the weekly jobcless claims data. Borrowing costs were kept unchanged overnight by the Federal Reserve (Fed), and projected two interest rate cuts for 2025. During Wednesday's Fed meeting, Chairman Jerome Powell said that any tariff-driven bump in inflation will be "transitory." However, he added later that it will be very challenging to say with confidence how much inflation stems from tariffs versus other factors. He also said recession odds...
Gold (XAU/USD) price managed to reach an all-time high of $3,057 before dropping nearly 0.50% to around $3,041 at the time of writing on Thursday (3/20). Despite selling pressure from profit-taking, the previous uptick came after the Federal Reserve (Fed) interest rate decision overnight, where the central bank kept interest rates unchanged in the range of 4.25%-4.50%. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell reiterated that tariffs should only delay the time to achieve inflation targets. Meanwhile, on the geopolitical front, tensions are rising in Gaza and Turkey. Israel continues its attacks on Gaza...
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....