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...
The Japanese Yen (JPY) struggles to capitalize on the previous day's modest gains and oscillates in a narrow range against its American counterpart during the Asian session on Friday. The near-term bias, meanwhile, seems tilted in favor of the JPY bulls in the wake of the Bank of Japan's (BoJ) more hawkish stance. In fact, the BoJ remains on track for more interest rate hikes, while other major central banks, including the US Federal Reserve (Fed), are seen lowering borrowing costs further. Apart from this, a slight deterioration in the global risk sentiment, persistent geopolitical...
The dollar index held below 106 on Friday, following a decline in the previous session, as investors braced for a key jobs report that could influence the Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates in December. The November nonfarm payrolls report is expected to show a gain of 200,000 jobs, with a weaker-than-expected number potentially fueling speculation of a rate cut. Meanwhile, data released on Thursday showed that initial jobless claims rose more than anticipated, hitting 224,000, signaling a potential cooling in the labor market. Markets are now pricing in a 71% chance of a 25...
The Australian dollar (AUD) weakened on Friday. Disappointing economic growth could prompt the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to adopt a more dovish stance at its monetary policy meeting next week, potentially setting up an interest rate cut in February. This, in turn, exerts selling pressure on the Aussie. Traders will be closely watching the November US jobs report, including Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP), Unemployment Rate, and Average Hourly Earnings. The US economy is expected to add 200,000 jobs in November after rising 12,000 in October. A weaker-than-expected reading could drag the...
EUR/USD strengthened on Thursday, rising seven-tenths of a percent and re-approaching the 1.0600 level. European Retail Sales beat market median estimates in October, but were still down from the previous month. The European Central Bank (ECB) is widely expected to cut interest rates by a quarter point next week, and market sentiment is tilted toward risk ahead of Friday's US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) data. Source: FXStreet
Oil prices fell on Thursday as investors weighed an ample supply outlook for next year against OPEC+ delaying its planned output increase by three months to April 2025. Brent crude settled down 22 cents, or 0.3%, at $72.09 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) settled down 24 cents, or 0.35%, at $68.30 a barrel. OPEC+, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries plus allies including Russia, had been planning to start unwinding cuts from October 2024, but slowing global demand and booming production outside of the group forced it to postpone the plans on several...
Gold traded lower mid-afternoon on Thursday, moving down even as the dollar weakened following an unexpected jump in U.S. initial jobless claims last week. Gold for February delivery was last seen down US$28.10 to US$2,648.10 per ounce. The U.S. Department of Labor reported 224,000 initial jobless claims were made last week, above the consensus estimate and prior week level of 215,000, according to Marketwatch. The results follows on a weaker than expected rise in private sector employment in November, with the ADP Employment Report released Wednesday showing a rise of 146,000 positions,...
The U.S. dollar weakened slightly on Thursday ahead of the release of more important labor market data, while the euro gained a bit despite political turmoil in France. At 5:20 AM ET (10:20 GMT), the Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, was trading 0.1% lower at 106.180. The dollar has given back some of its recent gains after private monthly payrolls grew more slowly than expected while service sector activity slowed in November after posting gains in recent months. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has indicated that the U.S. economy is...
Gold prices (XAU/USD) traded in a tight range around $2,650.00 during the European session on Thursday (5/12). The precious metal struggled to find direction as investors have been sidelined ahead of the United States (US) Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) data for November, due for release on Friday. The labor market data will significantly influence market expectations for the Federal Reserve's (Fed) likely interest rate decision at its monetary policy meeting on December 18. Financial market participants currently expect the Fed to cut interest rates by 25 basis points (bps) to 4.25%-4.50%,...
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....