Oil prices fell on Friday (October 24th) as skepticism crept into the market regarding the Trump administration's commitment to sanctions against Russia's two largest oil companies related to the war in Ukraine. Brent crude futures closed 5 cents, or 0.1%, lower at $65.94 a barrel, while U.S. crude <CLc1> closed at $61.50 a barrel, down 29 cents, or 0.5%. Both crude benchmarks rallied early in the session, extending gains of more than 5% achieved on Thursday after the sanctions were announced, but then weakened in the final two hours of trading. Crude prices still closed up more than...
The US dollar held steady on Thursday (September 4) amid a volatile week as investors grappled with a fragile bond market and data showing a weakening labor market, which has reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates this month. With the Fed's focus on employment, Friday's key employment report will help set expectations for the central bank's next few policy meetings. Wednesday's data showed job openings fell to a 10-month low in July, although layoffs remained relatively low. Separate surveys of private-sector employment and monthly layoffs will be released...
Gold prices fell on Thursday (September 4), slightly off record highs as investors locked in profits, while attention turned to key US employment data for further insight into the Federal Reserve's policy direction. Spot gold prices fell 0.4% to $3,542.97 per ounce as of 08:38 GMT. US gold futures for December delivery fell 0.9% to $3,601.40. Spot gold prices hit a record high of $3,578.50 on Wednesday amid growing speculation of a US Federal Reserve interest rate cut and lingering geopolitical and economic uncertainty. "The market is overbought and needs to correct," said StoneX analyst...
The US dollar edged higher against the slightly weaker Swiss franc, as an unexpected contraction in Swiss consumer prices in August fueled speculation that the SNB will cut interest rates to negative levels in the coming months. The pair edged up from Wednesday's low of 0.8025, but remains trapped in a tight range below the 0.8060-0.8070 area. Investors are cautious about placing large dollar bets ahead of key US fundamental data releases. Swiss inflation remained stable, growing at an annual rate of 0.2% in August, unchanged from the previous month. However, monthly inflation contracted...
The EUR/USD pair traded slightly lower at 1.1650 at the opening of the European session on Thursday (September 4th). The pair continues to search for direction, not far from the lower end of its trading range over the past few weeks, ahead of the Eurozone Retail Sales report. However, the main focus is on the US ADP Employment Change, due today, and, especially, the US Nonfarm Payrolls report on Friday. On Wednesday, weak US JOLTS Job Openings data added to evidence of a weak labor market and raised expectations of an imminent Federal Reserve (Fed) interest rate cut. This view was confirmed...
Silver slipped 1% to around $40.7 per ounce on Thursday, easing from 14-year highs as investors locked in profits ahead of key US labor market releases. Precious metals have rallied in recent weeks as traders increased bets on Federal Reserve rate cuts, with markets pricing in nearly a 98% chance of a 25 basis point reduction this month. On Wednesday, data showed US job openings fell more than expected to 7.181 million in July. Attention now turns to the ADP private payrolls and weekly jobless claims due later today, followed by the August jobs report on Friday. Safe-haven demand also lent...
The Australian dollar was little changed to around $0.654 on Thursday, holding its recent gains, supported by stronger-than-expected trade balance figures. Australia's goods trade surplus widened to AUD 7.31 billion in July, the largest in 17 months and well above expectations of AUD 5.0 billion. The improvement was driven by a 3.3% rise in exports to a 21-month high of AUD 46.02 billion, following strong gains in June, while imports fell 1.3% to AUD 38.71 billion, weighed by softer demand for non-monetary gold. The Aussie also drew support from recent data showing upbeat Q2 GDP growth,...
Oil steadied after falling by the most in a month as traders fretted that OPEC+ may boost supplies, US data pointed to a slowdown, and an industry estimate showed higher stockpiles at a key storage hub. West Texas Intermediate traded near $63 a barrel, after global benchmark Brent closed below $68. Prices slumped on Wednesday after a report that the OPEC+ alliance will consider a fresh round of production increases at a policy meeting this weekend. Still, Saudi Arabia and its partners have yet to decide how to proceed, according to several delegates. In the US, the world's...
Gold held near an all-time high after a seven-day rally, as weak US data spurred more bets on an interest-rate cut by the Federal Reserve this month and mounting concerns over the central bank's independence underpinned haven demand. Bullion for immediate delivery traded near $3,556 an ounce as markets opened on Thursday, after climbing as much as 1.3% to a new peak of $3,578.51 in the previous session. Ahead of Friday's pivotal US payrolls report, a drop in job openings to the lowest in 10 months saw traders almost fully pricing in a Fed cut this month and projecting at least two...
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....