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 Japanese Yen (JPY) traded in the negative territory on Wednesday. Upbeat US Manufacturing PMI data and this week's jobs data indicated that the US economy remains strong, which boosted the greenback. However, traders are increasingly convinced that the Bank of Japan (BOJ) will raise interest rates this month. This, in turn, could support the JPY in the near term. Further, ongoing political uncertainty in France, political tensions in South Korea, and rising geopolitical risks in the Middle East could boost safe-haven flows, benefiting the JPY against the USD. Investors will be keeping...
Oil prices rose more than 2% on Tuesday as Israel threatened to attack the Lebanese state if its truce with Hezbollah collapses, and as investors positioned for OPEC+ to announce an extension of supply cuts this week. Brent crude futures posted their biggest gains in two weeks, rising by $1.79, or 2.5%, to settle at $73.62 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures also rose the most since Nov. 18, gaining $1.84, or 2.7%, to close at $69.94 per barrel. Israeli forces have continued strikes against what they say are Hezbollah fighters ignoring last week's truce agreement in...
Gold moved higher mid-afternoon on Tuesday as the dollar weakened. Gold for February delivery was last seen up US$8.50 to US$2,667.00 per ounce. The precious metal has been mostly rangebound since correcting from a record high of US$2,800.80 on Oct.30, as the dollar surged following the U.S. election and inflation remains stuck above the Federal Reserve's 2% target. However the dollar eased early on Tuesday, with the ICE dollar index last seen down 0.35 points to 106.1. Treasury yields were mixed. The U.S. two-year note was last seen paying 4.159%, down 3.3 basis points, while the yield...
Gold (XAU/USD) edged higher to trade around $2,630 on Tuesday (3/12) after comments from a Federal Reserve (Fed) speaker raised the possibility of the Fed cutting interest rates at its December policy meeting. Lower interest rates are positive for Gold as they reduce the opportunity cost of holding non-interest-paying assets. Rising geopolitical risks can also support Gold amid ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, now exacerbated by the outbreak of civil war in Syria, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and political risks in France. During times of crisis, investors turn to Gold for...
The dollar weakened against all G10 currencies except the yen, which pared Monday's gains, ahead of U.S. data and a slew of Fed speeches. The Bloomberg Dollar Index fell 0.1%, after a 0.5% gain Monday; its volatility trend shifted slightly lower as currency markets still favor a quarter-point interest rate cut by the FOMC this month. The U.S. jobs report is due later in the day, followed by private employment on Wednesday and key nonfarm payrolls data on Friday. Fed Governor Adriana Kugler, San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly and Chicago counterpart Austan Goolsbee are also scheduled to...
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...