The Australian Dollar (AUD) strengthened slightly against the US Dollar (USD) on Monday, extending its gains as the greenback remained on the defensive. This move came amid strong confidence that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will cut interest rates by 25 basis points (bps) at its monetary policy meeting on Wednesday, a scenario the market now views as a done deal. At the time of writing, AUD/USD was trading near 0.6672, its strongest level in more than ten months. The currency pair has benefited from the broad USD weakness, as traders fully anticipate imminent Fed policy easing. Meanwhile, the...
Gold rose to an all-time high on Monday (September 15), boosted by a weaker dollar and falling U.S. Treasury yields, as investors prepared for this week's crucial Federal Reserve meeting that could set the tone for the rest of the year. Spot gold rose 1.1% to $3,680.80 an ounce at 1:44 p.m. EDT (1744 GMT), after hitting a record high of $3,685.39 earlier in the session. Bullion prices rose about 1.6% last week. U.S. gold futures for December delivery closed 0.8% higher at $3,719.00. The dollar index fell 0.3% to a one-week low, making gold more attractive to holders of other currencies,...
Oil prices rose on Monday as investors assessed the impact of Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian oil refineries and U.S. President Donald Trump's call for NATO countries to halt purchases of Russian oil. Brent crude futures closed up 45 cents, or 0.67%, at $67.44 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude closed up 61 cents, or 0.97%, at $63.30 a barrel. The attack on Russian oil infrastructure and Trump's increasing pressure on buyers of Russian crude boosted oil prices on Monday, said Phil Flynn, senior analyst at Price Futures Group. "Behind the scenes, there are a lot of...
Gold rose to a new a record high as traders geared up for an anticipated easing of the US Federal Reserve's monetary policy this week and looked for clues on further rate cuts this year. Bullion traded above $3,682 an ounce on Monday, after gaining for four consecutive weeks. Investors see a quarter-point cut this week, following signs of labor market weakness. Swaps also price in at least another reduction before the end of the year, with a high probability of a third one. That expectation has driven Treasury yields to the lowest level in months and weakened the...