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...
Silver hit a new record high and is on track for a second weekly gain as strong inflows into exchange-traded funds (ETFs) fueled a sharp rally. The white metal rose as much as 3.9% on Friday to a new record of $59.33 an ounce. Total additions to silver-backed ETFs in the four days through Thursday reached their highest level for any full week since July, a strong signal of investor interest despite signs that silver's rally may be overdone. "These inflows could quickly amplify the price action and trigger a short-term short squeeze," said Dilin Wu, research strategist at Pepperstone Group...
Gold (XAU/USD) trades marginally higher on Friday, oscillating within the familiar range that has defined price action this week, as dovish Federal Reserve (Fed) expectations keep the precious metal broadly supported. At the time of writing, XAU/USD is hovering near $4,222, with investors turning their focus to the delayed US Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) inflation data due later in the day. Markets will closely parse the PCE release as the final checkpoint ahead of next week's Fed interest rate decision. Recent labour indicators have delivered mixed signals but have done little...
Brent crude oil futures hovered around $63.3 per barrel on Friday, holding at a two-week high and remaining on track for a weekly gain, driven by geopolitical risk premium. Traders continued to watch for a possible US move in Venezuela after President Donald Trump signaled imminent action against the oil giant, with Rystad Energy warning that any escalation could threaten the country's 1.1 million bpd of crude output. Prices were also supported by the lack of progress in US talks in Moscow over the Ukraine war, which reduced the near-term prospects for restoring Russian supply, while...
Gold rebounded above $4,210 per ounce on Thursday after an early dip as markets squared positions ahead of the FOMC and digested fresh US labour signals that accelerated expectations of imminent easing. ADP reported a surprise decline of 32,000 private payrolls while Challenger announced 71,321 layoffs in November bringing the year to date total near 1.17 million which reinforced evidence that the labour market is cooling and lifted market confidence in a December 25bp cut. The dollar weakened with the DXY near 98.8 at its lowest since late October which reduced the opportunity cost of...
The USD/CHF pair weakened to the 0.8030 area at the start of Friday's European session. The US dollar was pressured by strong speculation of a Fed rate cut next week and rumors that White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett could replace Jerome Powell as Federal Reserve Chair. The market now prices nearly an 85% chance of a 25 bps rate cut at the December meeting, adding to selling pressure on the greenback. Investors are also awaiting the release of US September PCE inflation data, which could provide important clues to the Fed's future policy direction. In Switzerland, CPI inflation fell...
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...