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...
West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the US crude oil benchmark, is trading around $71.10 during the early Asian session on Thursday. The WTI price falls as US President Donald Trump called Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to discuss ending the war in Ukraine. Trump discussed the war in Ukraine in phone calls with Putin and Zelenskiy. Trump claimed he and Putin had agreed to have their respective teams start negotiations immediately, and they will begin by calling Zelenskiy to inform him of the conversation. "Trump doing peace talks, I think that has...
Oil prices plunged more than 2% on Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump took the first major step toward diplomacy over the war in Ukraine that he has vowed to end, a war that has supported oil prices amid concerns about global supply. Brent crude futures fell $1.82, or 2.36%, to $75.18 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell $1.95, or 2.66%, to $71.37. U.S. crude futures fell more than $2 at their session lows. The declines followed three days of gains, with Brent up 3.6% and WTI up 3.7%. U.S. President Donald Trump discussed the war in Ukraine in a phone...
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the value of the US Dollar (USD) against a basket of currencies, initially rose after a higher-than-expected January Consumer Price Index (CPI) data but then reversed course. Inflation beat estimates, causing investors to reassess the Federal Reserve's (Fed) policy path. While Fed Chair Jerome Powell remained non-committal on future interest rate cuts, Treasury yields moved higher, supporting the DXY early in the American session, but later fell below 107.90. The US Dollar Index attempted to move higher but faced resistance at 108.50, struggling to...
Gold prices recovered slightly in the North American session on Wednesday (2/12). Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Jerome Powell said that policy needs to remain tight as inflationary pressures increase and US President Donald Trump's tariff threats escalate. XAU/USD is trading at $2,897, almost unchanged. The non-yielding metal halted its downtrend after the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) revealed that inflation jumped above 3% in the United States, indicating that the Fed's pause in its easing cycle could be longer than expected. Last week, December federal funds rate futures showed...
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the performance of the US Dollar (USD) against six major currencies, trades unchanged around 108.00 after Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Jerome Powell did not leave any clues for markets to pick up on, when facing lawmakers on Tuesday at Capitol Hill. Powell did not leave many clues about the timing for another interest rate cut by the central bank, if any. Traders are mulling what to do next, with US yields slowly but surely starting to head higher this week. The economic calendar shows the Consumer Price Index (CPI) numbers for January are due on...
Gold's price (XAU/USD) is facing some profit-taking pressure and trades below $2,900 throughout this Wednesday after Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Jerome Powell went to Capitol Hill for his semi-annual testimony before lawmakers the previous day and before the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for January release. Powell did not say much but stated that the current level of the monetary policy rate is helping the central bank to withstand market volatility and potential inflation shocks that could take place. The comments were enough to fuel a small surge in US bond yields. Meanwhile,...
Oil prices fell 1% on Wednesday, ending three days of gains, as industry sources pointed to rising U.S. crude stockpiles and hawkish remarks from Fed Chair Jerome Powell that signalled slower rate cuts this year. Brent futures were down 67 cents or 0.87% at $76.33 a barrel by 0936 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude dropped 75 cents or 1.02% to $72.57 a barrel. The declines come after three days of gains during which Brent climbed 3.6% and WTI rose 3.7%. "Oil prices resumed their downtrend as the macro environment weighed on sentiment, with Jerome Powell indicating that...
The US dollar steadied Wednesday ahead of key inflation data that could guide future Federal Reserve policy, after relatively hawkish comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell. At 04:15 ET (09:15 GMT), the Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, traded marginally higher at 107.875, after recording some overnight losses, as traders stepped back from a tariff-driven rally in the greenback. Dollar steadies ahead of US CPI The day's main focus will be the publication of a key monthly reading of U.S. inflation later in the session, which could factor into...
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....