Oil slipped after a weekly advance, as lingering concerns about demand in China vied with indications the US may tighten sanctions on supply from Russia. Brent traded above $74 a barrel after rising almost 5% last week, while West Texas intermediate was near $71. China's crude refining dipped to the lowest in five months while two key economic indicators — home sales and consumer spending — also fell. The data out of the top crude importer sent prices somewhat lower. They had earlier held steady after US Treasury Secretary said the US and its allies could...
Silver (XAG/UD) started the new week on a subdued note and consolidated last week's retracement slide from or above one-month highs. The white metal remained close to a two-week low touched on Friday and traded around the $30.55 area, or the 100-day Simple Moving Average (SMA), during the Asian session. From a technical perspective, acceptance below the 100-day SMA will be seen as a fresh trigger for bearish traders against the backdrop of last week's failure near the $32.35 horizontal resistance. Given that oscillators on the daily chart have just started gaining negative traction, XAG/USD...
Gold prices (XAU/USD) moved higher after the Asian session to drop to $2,644-2,643 region, or the lowest level in a week, and for now, seems to have halted its sharp decline from over a month highs reached last Thursday. The US Dollar (USD) started the new week on a weaker note amid a slight decline in the US Treasury bond yields. Moreover, geopolitical risks and uncertainty over US President-elect Donald Trump's policies turned out to be the main factors providing support for the precious metal which is a safe-haven asset. Meanwhile, investors now seem convinced that the Federal Reserve...
The Australian Dollar (AUD) snapped a four-day losing streak on Monday (16/12) as the US Dollar (USD) weakened amid US Treasury yields ahead of the Federal Reserve's (Fed) interest rate decision due on Wednesday. The Fed is widely expected to announce a 25 basis point interest rate cut at its final monetary policy meeting of 2024. According to the CME FedWatch tool, markets are now almost fully pricing in a quarter basis point rate cut at the Fed's December meeting. China Retail Sales (YoY) rose 3.0% in November, compared with a 4.6% forecast and a previous reading of 4.8%. Meanwhile,...