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...
EUR/USD dipped below the psychological resistance of 1.0500 on Tuesday. The major currency pair remained fragile as the US Dollar (USD) strengthened on expectations that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will take a slightly hawkish stance after cutting its key lending rate by 25 basis points (bps) to 4.25%-4.50% on Wednesday. According to the CME FedWatch tool, traders have priced in a 25 bps rate cut for Wednesday's policy meeting. The data also showed that the Fed is expected to leave rates unchanged at its January meeting. Analysts at Macquarie said that the Fed's stance could shift "slightly...
The AUD/USD pair fell to a yearly low around 0.6340 during the European session on Tuesday. The Aussie pair weakened as the US Dollar (USD) moved higher amid strong expectations that the Federal Reserve (Fed) could signal a more gradual policy easing approach at its policy meeting on Wednesday after cutting interest rates by 25 basis points (bps) to 4.25%-4.50%. Source: FXStreet
Oil prices fell on Tuesday as Chinese economic data renewed demand concerns, while investors remained cautious ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest rate decision. Brent crude futures were down 32 cents at $73.59 a barrel by 0949 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 44 cents at $70.27 a barrel. Prices were "weighed down by profit-taking after last week's 6% rally and a batch of disappointing Chinese economic data yesterday," said IG market analyst Tony Sycamore. Prices fell from multi-week highs on Monday on unexpectedly weak consumer spending data from...
The dollar strengthened on Tuesday ahead of an expected interest rate cut in the United States, as traders grew more confident that the Federal Reserve will gradually lower borrowing costs next year. The euro, which is set to lose nearly 5% against the dollar this year, was trading at $1.04823 ahead of the Fed decision. The gap between U.S. and German 10-year yields is 216 basis points, near its widest in five years, after rising nearly 70 basis points in three months, further weighing on the euro. The Fed hands down its interest rate decision on Wednesday and interest rate futures imply...
Gold prices slide ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy meeting, with traders cautiously waiting for cues on the U.S. central bank's outlook for 2025. Futures trade 0.4% lower at $2,652.75 a troy ounce. A widely anticipated 25-basis-point rate cut is already fully priced into markets, according to analysts, but further cuts are less certain. Meanwhile, U.S. PMI data showed the services sector rose at a faster-than-expected pace. "The resilience of the U.S. economy supports our view that the Fed's 2025 rate cutting cycle is likely to be shallow," ANZ Research analysts say. "We expect a...
Oil prices nudged lower on Tuesday as China's economic data renewed demand concerns, while investors remained cautious ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest rate decision. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was down 11 cents at $70.60 a barrel at 0802 GMT, while Brent crude futures eased 2 cents to $73.89 a barrel. Prices were "weighed on by profit-taking after last week's 6% rally and a batch of disappointing Chinese economic data yesterday," IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said. On Monday, prices fell from multi-week highs on unexpected weakness in consumer spending data from...
The Japanese Yen (JPY) continues to struggle to attract meaningful buyers and held near a three-week low against its US counterpart heading into the European session on Tuesday. Firming expectations that the Bank of Japan (BOJ) will keep short-term interest rates unchanged later this week, coupled with a positive risk tone, continued to undermine the JPY's safe-haven appeal. Moreover, bets for a less dovish Federal Reserve (Fed) continued to support a pickup in the US Treasury bond yields, which turned out to be another factor weighing on the lower-yielding JPY. However, JPY market players...
Silver held below $30.5 an ounce on Tuesday (12/17) after facing heavy selling pressure in recent sessions, weighed down by concerns about a more measured pace of easing from the U.S. Federal Reserve next year. The Fed is widely expected to deliver a 25 basis point interest rate cut this week, but may signal fewer cuts for 2025 amid concerns about a potential resurgence in inflation. Silver and other metals are also facing pressure from ongoing demand uncertainty in China, the world's largest consumer of the metal. Earlier this week, data showed that China's retail sales growth slowed more...
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....