US President Donald Trump seized the opportunity to lash out at Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Tuesday during a meeting with Philippine President Bongbong Marcos. After spending weeks normalizing the White House by publicly criticizing the Fed and attempting to undermine the US central bank's political autonomy, President Trump is working hard to justify his efforts to circumvent US laws that prevent him from having a say in who runs the Fed and what they do. Donald Trump nominated Jerome Powell to take over the Fed's top job in 2018 and has been very vocal about his displeasure...
Oil is headed for a weekly gain as the prospect of tighter U.S. sanctions on Iran and Russia offset persistent concerns about a massive global oversupply next year. West Texas Intermediate is trading near $70 a barrel, up about 4% so far this week, while Brent closed above $73. President-elect Donald Trump's pick for national security adviser has vowed to return to "maximum pressure" on Iran, while the Biden administration is considering new sanctions on Russian oil trade before leaving the White House next month. The prospect of tougher penalties briefly sparked a bullish surge in the...
Oil prices fell slightly Thursday as a forecast for ample supply in the oil market offset optimism stemming from rising expectations of a U.S. interest rate cut. Brent crude futures fell 11 cents to close at $73.41 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures declined 27 cents to settle at $70.02. Both benchmarks rose by more than $1 on Wednesday. The International Energy Agency said it expected the oil market to be comfortably supplied next year, even as it revised its demand outlook for next year up slightly. OPEC cut its demand growth forecast for 2024 for the fifth straight...
Gold slipped over 1% on Thursday as investors booked profits after it briefly reached a five-week high earlier in the session and squared positions ahead of a U.S. Federal Reserve meeting next week. Spot gold lost 1.2% at $2,684.15 per ounce by 01:40 p.m. ET (1840 GMT), while U.S. gold futures settled 1.7% lower at $2,709.40. Bullion climbed to its highest level since Nov. 6 earlier in the session. Source: Reuters
Oil prices were little changed in Asian trade on Thursday as forecasts of weak demand and a higher-than-expected rise in U.S. gasoline and distillate inventories stemmed gains from an additional round of EU sanctions threatening Russian oil flows. Brent crude futures were up 14 cents at $73.66 a barrel at 0519 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 6 cents to $70.35. Both benchmarks rose over $1 each on Wednesday. OPEC cut its demand growth forecasts for 2025 for the fifth straight month on Wednesday and by the largest amount yet. "Investors will be closely monitoring the...
Gold eased near $2,700 an ounce on Wednesday, taking a breather after a three-day rally as investors continued to digest the latest U.S. inflation data. The November report showed headline inflation rose as expected, while core inflation remained unchanged. That prompted traders to increase bets on a Federal Reserve interest rate cut next week, with Fed fund futures indicating a 98% chance of a 25 bps cut. Such moves typically benefit gold by reducing the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets. However, concerns about persistent inflation remain in the year ahead, as other key...
China's official NBS Manufacturing PMI increased to 49.7 in June 2025 from May's 49.5, matching market expectations while marking the third consecutive month of contraction in factory activity.
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Both the STOXX 50 and STOXX 600 hovered around the flatline on Friday, as investors adopted a cautious stance ahead of further developments in trade talks between US President Trump and Chinese...
Indonesia's sovereign wealth fund, Danantara, plans to sign a USD 8 billion engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract with US engineering firm KBR Inc. to build 17 modular...