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...
Crude Oil prices are going nowhere as volatility dies down on Tuesday with traders looking ahead to Christmas Eve rather than the release of the American Petroleum Institute (API). Even headlines of further stimulus in China are not driving Oil prices higher: Chinese policymakers want to boost the economy with a 3 trillion Yuan bond injection, a move that should ramp up spending and result in a boost in demand for Oil from one of the world's top consumers. At the time of writing, Crude Oil (WTI) trades at $69.61 and Brent Crude at $72.80.(cay) Newsmaker23 Source: Fxstreet
Gold traded in a narrow range as traders weighed the prospect of a slower pace of interest rate cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve next year. Bullion prices were near $2,615 an ounce after closing down 0.4% on Monday. Investors digested the latest data on U.S. consumer confidence, which unexpectedly fell amid uncertainty over the policies of the incoming Trump administration. Gold was steady during thin holiday trading but a stronger dollar continued to weigh on the market, Pranav Mer, an analyst at JM Financial Services Ltd. in Mumbai, said in a note on Tuesday. Earlier this month, the Fed...
Oil rose in thin holiday trade, supported by a rally in equities and the rise of President-elect Donald Trump in international politics. Brent traded near $73 a barrel after falling slightly on Monday. European and Asian stocks rose after a Wall Street rally led by large-cap technology stocks. However, the dollar held near a two-year high, dampening the appeal of commodities. Trump has threatened to seize the Panama Canal, as well as impose tighter sanctions on Iran and tariffs on China that could affect the global oil balance. "The festive season seems a little different from Donald...
The US dollar strengthened in thin holiday-affected trading on Tuesday, maintaining recent strength as traders brace for fewer Federal Reserve interest rate cuts in 2025. At 4:25 AM ET (09:25 GMT), the Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, was trading 0.1% higher at 107.905, near a recent two-year high. The dollar has been in demand since the Federal Reserve outlined a hawkish outlook for interest rates after its final policy meeting of the year last week, projecting just two rate cuts of 25 basis points in 2025. In fact, markets are now...
Gold (XAU/USD) prices struggled to capitalize on their modest intraday gains on Tuesday and remained below multi-day highs set the previous day amid mixed fundamental cues. Geopolitical risks stemming from the prolonged Russia-Ukraine war and tensions in the Middle East, along with trade war concerns, continued to lend support to the safe-haven precious metal. However, the Federal Reserve's (Fed) hawkish policy shift kept a lid on the commodity. The US central bank last week signaled it would slow the pace of interest rate cuts in 2025. The outlook remains supportive of a pickup in the US...
Oil prices rose on Tuesday, reversing the previous session's losses, supported by a slightly positive near-term market outlook, despite thin trading ahead of the Christmas holiday. Brent crude futures rose 42 cents, or 0.6%, to settle at $73.05 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 38 cents, or 0.6%, to settle at $69.62 a barrel by 0742 GMT. Changes in supply and demand in December have supported their less bearish outlook so far, analysts said in a note. A plan by China, the world's biggest oil importer, to issue 3 trillion yuan ($411 billion) worth of special bonds next...
The USD/CHF pair posted modest gains near 0.8990 during the early European session on Tuesday.The prospect of higher US interest rates in the longer term continues to support the greenback for now. Trading volumes are likely to thin out as the year-end approaches. The Federal Reserve (Fed) projections outlined a slower pace of interest rate cuts than traders had expected, supporting the US Dollar (USD). The Summary of Economic Projections, or ‘dot-plot', indicated a half-percentage-point rate cut in 2025, compared to a full percentage point cut projected in September. Data released by the...
The Australian Dollar (AUD) weakened for the second straight day against the US Dollar (USD) on Tuesday following the release of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) December monetary policy meeting minutes. Trading activity is expected to be subdued ahead of the Christmas break. The RBA minutes indicated that the board had become more confident about inflation since the previous meeting, although risks remained. The board stressed the need for monetary policy to remain "moderately tight" until there was greater certainty about inflation. The RBA board also noted that if future data were in...
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....