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...
GBP/USD extends its gains for the second straight day, trading around 1.2400 during Asian hours on Friday (1/24). The pair's gains could be attributed to remarks by US President Donald Trump on Thursday night. President Trump said that he wants the US Federal Reserve (Fed) to cut interest rates soon. "With oil prices going down, I'm going to demand that interest rates go down soon, and interest rates go down around the world," Trump said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Traders expect the Federal Reserve (Fed) to keep its benchmark interest rate steady at 4.25%-4.50% at...
The Australian dollar (AUD) continued its upward momentum against the US dollar (USD) for the third straight session on Friday (1/24). The AUD/USD pair gained traction after the People's Bank of China (PBOC) conducted a medium-term lending operation. The Chinese central bank kept interest rates at 2.00% and injected 200 billion yuan ($27.46 billion) through a one-year medium-term lending facility (MLF) to certain financial institutions, according to Reuters. Traders are likely to keep an eye on the release of the preliminary US S&P Global Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) and the...
The US dollar index fell below 108 on Friday (1/24), set to drop more than 1% for the week. The decline came as President Donald Trump refrained from imposing aggressive tariffs after his inauguration, contrary to market expectations. In his speech at the World Economic Forum, Trump also called for immediate interest rate cuts and reiterated his commitment to lower taxes on US-based manufacturers, while promising tariffs on companies that produce overseas. Despite Trump's comments, the Federal Reserve is widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged at its policy meeting next week. Market...
The yen was the currency market's leading currency on Friday(24/1) ahead of a Bank of Japan policy decision that will almost certainly raise interest rates, while the dollar headed for its worst week in two months. The BOJ ends its two-day policy meeting later in the day and markets have widely priced in a 25 basis point rate hike, with recent comments from BOJ officials also hinting at such a move. Ahead of the decision, the yen was little changed at 156.11 per dollar, near a one-week low hit in the previous session. The Japanese currency surged last week on rising expectations for a...
Oil headed for the first weekly decline this year after Donald Trump raised the prospect of trade wars and said he will ask Saudi Arabia and OPEC to lower prices in his first few days as the new US president. West Texas Intermediate fell toward $74 a barrel, and is down almost 5% this week, while Brent closed near $78. Trump's first week in the White House began with tariff threats on Canada, Mexico and China, followed by a pledge that he would ask the producer group to "bring down the cost of oil." That's helped put futures on track for the biggest weekly loss since...
Gold is steady in the early Asian session, underpinned by U.S. President Trump's call for lower interest rates that would bolster the allure of the non-interest-bearing precious metal. Trump said Thursday that he would like to see rates "come down a lot" and implied that steps to keep a lid on price pressures were an important precursor to lower rates. Also, gold could remain well supported by several factors including expectations of continued institutional demand, says Ramy Zeytouni, market analyst at Ramy Zeytouni LLC, in an email. Spot gold is little changed at...
EUR/USD flatlined, cycling near the 1.0400 handle as investors grind through a largely unremarkable week despite a strong start on Monday. A lack of meaningful economic docket data isn't doing already-tepid markets any favors, and political headlines are driving most of what little trading volume exists. President Donald Trump lashed out about a wide variety of topics during his appearance at the WEF's annual gathering in Switzerland, colloquially referred to as Davos, the city that hosts the forum every year. President Trump reminded everyone listening that he intended to "obliterate" the...
Oil fell 1% on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump urged Saudi Arabia and OPEC to bring down its cost during his address at the World Economic Forum.Uncertainty over how Trump's proposed tariffs and energy policies would affect global economic growth and energy demand also weighed on prices.Brent crude futures settled 71 cents, or 0.9%, lower at $78.29 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) settled down 82 cents, or 1.09%, to $74.62.Prices dipped after Trump announced he would ask Saudi Arabia and OPEC to bring down the cost of oil during his speech at the World Economic...
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....