Renewed tensions between the United States and Russia have resurfaced following an incident involving an oil tanker, sparking market concerns about potential disruptions to global energy supplies. Washington's move, associated with tightening oversight and enforcement of sanctions on Russian oil shipments, is viewed by Moscow as provocative and could worsen relations between the two countries. Russia views these actions as an attempt by the United States to suppress Russian energy exports and strengthen its dominance in the global oil market. Meanwhile, Washington argues that these measures...
World oil prices weakened and headed for a second weekly decline. Market concerns about oversupply are considered greater than potential distribution disruptions. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude is trading near US$56 per barrel and has fallen more than 2% this week, while Brent crude closed below US$60 per barrel in trading on Thursday. Several of the world's largest oil traders believe the market will be oversupplied by early next year. Energy trading firm Trafigura even predicts Brent prices will hover around US$50 per barrel until mid-2026, as global supply continues to be...
Gold prices were stable in the morning trading session in Asia. This precious metal was supported by the prospect of a US Federal Reserve (Fed) interest rate cut, which typically makes gold more attractive because it offers no interest yield. Fawad Razaqzada, a Global Macro market analyst at FOREX.com, stated that the current US interest rate environment opens the door to policy changes. He believes that with the US annual key interest rate hovering around 2.7%, the Fed's rate cut could occur earlier, even as early as 2026. He also believes that the short-term outlook for gold remains...
Gold (XAU/USD) erases earlier gains on Thursday after the non-yielding metal hit $4,374 and approached the all-time high of $4,381 following the release of a weaker-than-expected inflation report in the US. At the time of writing, XAU/USD trades at $4,335. Bullion retreats as markets question inflation data reliability, keep January Fed cut odds unchanged. The core US Consumer Price Index (CPI) print in November fell to its lowest level since early 2021, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Both headlined and core CPIs dipped, but economists warned that the 43-day...
Silver edged down to $65.8 per ounce, after a 3.8% surge to a new all-time high of $66.175 in the previous session, as investors reacted to softer-than-expected US inflation data. Core CPI rose at the slowest YoY pace since early 2021, reinforcing expectations that the Federal Reserve could continue cutting interest rates next year. Markets are pricing about a 25% chance of a cut in January and are almost fully expecting one by April. Meanwhile, geopolitical risks remained in focus, as the US moved to halt sanctioned Venezuelan oil shipments following last week's tanker seizure and military...
Gold prices briefly fell following the release of US inflation (CPI) data. The initial market reaction was driven by concerns that high inflation could force the Federal Reserve to maintain a tighter stance on interest rates. This condition boosted the US dollar and depressed gold prices in the short term. However, after the market more thoroughly digested the CPI data, gold rebounded. Investors assessed that inflation was not as high as feared or was showing signs of slowing, thus limiting the likelihood of further policy tightening. The weakening dollar and falling US bond yields then...
Asian stock markets fell in unison on Thursday, following Wall Street's decline. A brief rally in tech stocks led by Nvidia quickly faded, prompting investors to turn away from riskier assets like...
European stock indices closed marginally lower on Wednesday as equities took a breather from their recent strong momentum, while investors continued to assess the outlook for the ECB's policy this...
The upcoming Supreme Court ruling on the legality of President Donald Trump's massive tariffs, which rocked markets in April, is one of the next major tests for US stocks and bonds.
Equity markets...