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 (XAU/USD) prices staged a goodish intraday recovery from a one-month low, around $2,584-$2,610 region touched during the Asian session on Thursday (19/12), albeit without any follow-through buying. The Federal Reserve (Fed) signaled on Wednesday that it would slow the pace of interest rate cuts. This comes on top of persistent geopolitical risks and trade war fears, which in turn, dampened investors' appetite for riskier assets and drove some haven flows towards the precious metal. Meanwhile, the Fed's more hawkish view on the 2025 outlook remained supportive of a further uptick in the...
The yen weakened past the key level of 155 versus the dollar after the Bank of Japan kept interest rates steady at its policy meeting. Japan's currency slid as much as 0.3% against the greenback to 155.27, a level last seen on Nov. 21. That followed a 0.9% slide in the yen on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates while signaling caution over future rate reductions. The 155 level for the dollar-yen pair is closely watched by strategists, who see a slide to this mark as a potential trigger for verbal intervention from Japanese authorities, and added pressure on the...
Gold staged a partial recovery in Asian trading after tumbling more than 2% in the previous session as the Federal Reserve adopted a more cautious tone on the pace of rate cuts next year. Bullion climbed as much as 1.3% to trade near $2,620 an ounce. The Fed reduced borrowing costs on Wednesday, but Chair Jerome Powell said that while the bank was "on track to continue to cut," officials would first have to see more progress on inflation. Fresh quarterly forecasts showed several officials penciling in fewer rate cuts for next year, causing swap traders to significantly...
Gold fell sharply, as traders weighed the outlook for interest rates after the Federal Reserve signaled caution over the path of easing next year. Bullion traded near $2,590 an ounce, after falling 2.3% to a one-month low on Wednesday as the U.S. central bank cut interest rates for a third straight time but controlled the number of reductions expected in 2025. Fed Chair Jerome Powell told reporters that while the bank is "on track to continue cutting," officials must first see more progress on inflation. New quarterly forecasts showed some officials are expecting fewer rate cuts next year...
Oil fell as expectations for fewer interest-rate cuts by the Federal Reserve next year boosted the dollar. February West Texas Intermediate fell toward $69 a barrel, while Brent crude settled above $73. Fed officials lowered borrowing costs as expected on Wednesday but kept the amount of cuts they expect to make in 2025 in check. The dollar strengthened to its strongest level in more than two years, making commodities more expensive for most buyers. Crude rose on Wednesday after U.S. national inventories fell for a fourth straight week. Futures headed for their narrowest annual price...
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...