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...
XAU/USD trades dangerously close to its record high in the $2,790 region as the latest macroeconomic developments put pressure on the US Dollar (USD). Ahead of Wall Street's opening, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced its decision on monetary policy. The ECB lowered key rates by 25 basis points (bps) each, as expected. With this decision, the interest rate on the main refinancing operations and the interest rates on the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility stood at 2.9%, 3.15% and 2.75%, respectively. The accompanying statement and the subsequent President Christine...
The USD/JPY pair dipped near 154.30 during the European session on Thursday (1/30). The asset weakened as the Japanese Yen (JPY) performed strongly across the board amid growing expectations that the Bank of Japan (BOJ) will continue to raise interest rates this year. BoJ hawkish bets have been rising on the assumption that Japan's spring wage negotiations will result in another strong hike this year. On Thursday, BOJ Deputy Governor Ryozo Himino also said that the central bank "will raise interest rates if the economy and prices move in line with expectations." Meanwhile, the US Dollar...
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the US dollar against a basket of six major currencies, was trading flat around 108.00 at the time of writing on Thursday (30/1). All eyes are now on the European Central Bank (ECB), where a 25 basis point (bps) interest rate cut is expected. After a somewhat hawkish pause from the Federal Reserve (Fed), markets are keen to see if the ECB will comment on the US political situation with Donald Trump back in office. That is something that Fed Chair Jerome Powell did not do. He refused to comment on any questions that referred to President Donald Trump....
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude prices continued to decline for a second straight session, trading around $72.20 a barrel during early European hours on Thursday (1/30). Investors remained cautious as uncertainty looms over US trade policy, following conflicting statements from the White House regarding President Donald Trump's proposed tariffs on Canada and Mexico—two of the United States' main crude suppliers. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt confirmed on Tuesday that Trump remains committed to imposing tariffs on Canada and Mexico as planned on Saturday. On Wednesday, Trump's...
The Australian Dollar (AUD) continued its decline against the US Dollar (USD) for the fourth straight day on Thursday (30/1). However, the AUD/USD pair strengthened after the release of the Export Price Index. Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed export prices rose by 3.6% quarter-on-quarter in Q4 2024, reversing a 4.3% decline in Q3 and marking the first increase since Q4 2023. The Australian Import Price Index rose by 0.2% QoQ in Q4 2024, bouncing back from a 1.4% decline in Q3 and beating market expectations of a 1.5% decline. The rise was mainly driven by surging Gold...
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...