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...
The dollar index held steady around 106.5 on Thursday after rising for four straight sessions even as the latest US consumer inflation data reinforced bets for a Federal Reserve interest rate cut next week. The CPI report showed that both headline and core inflation rates matched expectations in November, paving the way for the Fed to continue cutting rates. The market is now pricing in a near 100% chance that the Fed will cut by another 25 basis points next week. Investors are also looking ahead to producer inflation data due on Thursday for further direction. Meanwhile, the US dollar...
The Australian Dollar (AUD) halts its two days of losses against the US Dollar (USD) on Thursday. The AUD remains stronger after the release of domestic mixed employment data. The seasonally adjusted Employment Change increased by 35,600, bringing the total number of employed people to 14,535,500 in November. This exceeded the previous reading of 12,100 and the expected figure of 25,000. Meanwhile, the Unemployment Rate fell to 3.9%, the lowest since March, lower than market estimates of 4.2%. The AUD/USD pair faced challenges due to the broadly stronger US dollar (USD) following the...
Gold rose for a fourth day after a key U.S. inflation report bolstered expectations for a Federal Reserve rate cut when policymakers meet next week. Bullion traded above $2,720 an ounce — near its highest in more than two weeks — after consumer price index data on Wednesday rose in line with expectations. The report reinforced bets for a 25-basis-point cut at the Fed's final meeting of the year, with swaps traders now largely pricing in the move. Lower borrowing costs typically help bullion, as it pays no interest. Gold has risen by almost a third this year, hitting a string of records and...
GBP/USD moved swiftly on Wednesday, moving closer to 1.2750 after the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) figures for November broadly met market expectations. The rest of the week remains on the UK side of the economic calendar, with Cable traders facing the US Producer Price Index (PPI) figures on Thursday. US CPI inflation rose slightly for the year ended in November with headline CPI inflation rising to 2.7% YoY from 2.6%, while core CPI inflation held steady at 3.3% YoY. Monthly headline CPI inflation also rose in November, rising to 0.3% MoM from 0.2% in October. Despite the overall rise in...
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil rose on Wednesday as China's decision on Monday to loosen monetary policy continues to support the commodity, while OPEC lowered its demand forecast for this year and next and a report showed a drop in U.S. inventories. WTI crude for January delivery closed up US$1.70 to settle at US$70.29 per barrel, while February Brent crude was last seen up US$1.25 to US$73.44. In its Monthly Oil Market Report released on Wednesday OPEC again lowered its demand-growth forecast for 2024 and 2025 demand. The cartel trimmed its outlook for this year by 210,000...
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...