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...
Dollar picks up slightly with CPI release in focus The U.S. dollar drifted higher Thursday as traders weighed up fresh trade threats between Washington and Beijing, ahead of the release of key inflation data. The Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, traded 0.1% higher to 98.805, bouncing after recording hefty losses last week. The safe-haven dollar has edged slightly higher as traders have worried about the fragile state of U.S.-China relations, amid fears of a potentially damaging trade war between the world's two largest economies. Trump's...
Silver climbed above $49 per ounce on Thursday, recouping some losses from earlier in the week as mounting global trade and geopolitical tensions boosted demand for safe-haven assets. Reports indicated that the US is weighing export restrictions on China involving US-made software, though President Donald Trump later confirmed plans to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping. At the same time, the Trump administration blacklisted Russia's top oil producers, Rosneft and Lukoil, in an effort to push Moscow toward talks to end the Ukraine war. Despite the rebound, silver remains nearly 10%...
The pound sterling (GBP) exchange rate against the US dollar (USD) has continued to weaken for the fifth consecutive day and is now trading around 1.3340 in the Asian session on Thursday (October 23rd) morning. Pressure on the pound increased due to the strengthening of the US dollar amid growing market concerns ahead of the release of US inflation data on Friday. This situation was exacerbated by the partial US government shutdown, which delayed the release of important economic data, making investors more cautious. The US dollar also received additional support from growing optimism...
Oil jumped after the US announced sanctions on Russia's biggest producers, as President Donald Trump ramps up pressure on his counterpart Vladimir Putin to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine. West Texas Intermediate surged as much as 2.8% to trade above $60 after the US blacklisted state-run giant Rosneft PJSC and Lukoil PJSC, citing Moscow's lack of commitment to Ukrainian peace. Trump is also seeking to squeeze Russia's key crude buyers — India and China. Brent closed above $62 on Wednesday. The sanctions mark a U-turn for Trump, who had announced last week he would...
Gold extends pullback in early Asian session after front-month Comex gold futures fell for a second straight session overnight. Investors have been unwinding part of last week's speculative surge, Sucden Financial's Research team says in commentary. The retreat in precious metals' prices probably reflects profit-taking and reduced safe-haven flows rather than U.S. Treasury yields' dynamics, the team says. "Still-low Treasury yields and ongoing macro uncertainty continue to offer underlying support" for precious metals, the team adds. Spot gold is 0.2% lower at $4,089.65/oz. (az) Source:...
Oil prices continued their rally after the deal on Wednesday (October 22), rising more than $2 a barrel after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said more U.S. sanctions targeting Russia would be announced. Brent crude jumped $2.44, or 3.98%, to $63.76 after the deal at 3:44 p.m. EDT (19:44 GMT), and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose $2.42, or 4.23%, to $59.66. Brent crude closed up $1.27, or 2.07%, to $62.59 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose $1.26, or 2.20%, to $58.50. Bessent said U.S. sanctions would be announced on Wednesday or Thursday. "We'll be...
Gold prices fell on Wednesday (October 22) to a nearly two-week low, following their sharpest one-day decline in five years in the previous session, as investors booked profits ahead of key US inflation data due later this week. Spot gold fell 1.7% to $4,054.34 an ounce, as of 1:42 p.m. ET (1742 GMT), after rising as high as $4,161.17 earlier in the session. US gold futures for December closed 1.1% lower at $4,065.40 an ounce. Gold has hit multiple record highs and is up 57% this year, driven by geopolitical tensions, economic uncertainty, expectations of a US interest rate cut, and strong...
Oil prices rose for a second day on Wednesday (October 22nd), rising about 2%, driven by rising US energy consumption and hopes for progress on a US trade deal with China and India. Brent crude rose $1.29, or 2.1%, to $62.61 a barrel at 11:09 a.m. EDT (15:09 GMT), while US West Texas Intermediate crude rose $1.34, or 2.34%, to $58.58. US crude inventories fell during the week ending October 17th, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Wednesday. Crude stocks fell by 961,000 barrels to 422.8 million barrels last week, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters...
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....