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...
Gold prices were mostly steady in Asian trading on Friday, but hit a record high after surging in the previous session amid uncertainty over U.S. tariffs, while investors cautiously awaited a key U.S. inflation report. Spot gold was mostly unchanged after hitting a record high of $2,799.60 an ounce, while February gold futures edged up 0.1% to $2,793.74 an ounce by 1:55 p.m. ET (06:55 GMT). The recent escalation of U.S. trade policy under President Donald Trump has raised considerable uncertainty in global markets. His announcement of high tariffs on imports from the BRICS nations—Brazil,...
The dollar strengthened against a basket of currencies, recovering slightly after the previous day's drop following weak U.S. gross domestic product data. Markets turned cautious ahead of a possible announcement by President Trump on tariffs, particularly against Canada and Mexico, which drew some safe-haven demand for the U.S. currency. "Tariff news from the Trump administration continues to take center stage," said analysts at Danske Bank. December U.S. PCE inflation data -- the Fed's preferred inflation measure -- and the fourth-quarter U.S. employment cost index, both due at 1330 GMT,...
GBP/USD extended its decline for the fourth straight session, trading around 1.2420 during Asian hours on Friday (1/31). The decline was driven by the US Dollar (USD) improving amid rising risk aversion following new tariff threats from US President Donald Trump. President Trump reiterated plans late Thursday to impose a flat 25% import tax on all goods entering the US from Canada and Mexico, citing concerns over fentanyl. The first wave of tariffs on the two countries will take effect on February 1, according to Reuters. Additionally, Trump hinted at the possibility of imposing tariffs on...
The Japanese Yen (JPY) attracted some intraday sellers and snapped a two-day winning streak against its American rival after Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Kazuo Ueda said on Friday that underlying inflation remains slightly below 2%. Additionally, a modest uptick in the US Treasury bond yields and a generally positive risk tone undermined the safe-haven JPY. This, in turn, helped the USD/JPY pair retrace nearly 100 pips from Asian session lows. Meanwhile, data released earlier today showed that consumer prices in Tokyo – the capital of Japan – rose in January. This kept alive hopes for...
The USD/CHF pair traded with modest gains near 0.9100 during the early European session on Friday (1/31). The hawkish stance from the US Federal Reserve (Fed) provided some support to the US Dollar (USD). Investors will take more cues from the December US Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) inflation data, due for release on Friday. Also, Fed Governor Michelle Bowman will be speaking. The US central bank left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in a press conference that the US economy remains strong, while inflation remains mildly elevated. Hence, the...
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...