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...
Oil prices fell on the first trading day of 2026 as expectations of a growing supply surplus offset geopolitical risks to production in some OPEC+ countries. Brent crude traded near $60 per barrel on a relatively thin trading day, while West Texas Intermediate neared $57. Middle East markets, including derivatives such as the regional benchmark Dubai, weakened amid heavy selling pressure during the key Asian trading window, traders familiar with the matter said. Faced with a seasonal decline in consumption, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is likely to remain...
Precious metals began the first trading session of the New Year by continuing their strong gains in 2025 as geopolitical tensions and expectations of a US interest rate cut kept gold demand high. Spot gold prices rose 0.5% to $4,335.50 an ounce, as of 10:25 a.m. ET (15:25 GMT), after hitting $4,402.06 earlier in the session. Bullion hit a record high of $4,549.71/oz on December 26, marking a 64% increase in 2025. US gold futures for February delivery rose 0.1% to $4,346.20/oz. "We continue to see the market talking about a March interest rate cut and possibly another later this year. That...
The spot gold price on the global market has shown positive momentum since the start of 2026 after recording a remarkable increase throughout 2025. The latest data shows that spot gold was last traded at around US$4,378 per ounce, up around 1.6% in the Asian session due to several economic factors and market sentiment supporting the precious metal as a safe-haven asset. This global gold rally comes after the precious metal ended last year with a record gain of more than 60%, its largest achievement in decades. Market analysts identify several key drivers, including a weaker US dollar,...
The Australian Dollar is the best performer among major currencies in an otherwise calm start tobe the year. The Aussie appreciates nearly 0.5% against the US Dollar in the daily chart, so far, buoyed by a positive market sentiment and heightened hopes that the next move by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will ber a rate hike. The hawkish comments by RBA Governor Michelle Bullock, after the December 9 monetary policy decision, and the minutes of the meeting, revealed that policymakers' concerns about inflation have taken center stage, and that the possibility of a rate hike was at the...
The US dollar opened 2026 weakly on Friday. Throughout last year, the dollar was pressured by many major currencies due to narrowing interest rate differentials between the US and other countries. Concerns about the US budget deficit, the global trade war, and the independence of the US Federal Reserve (Fed) weighed on the dollar and are expected to continue this year. The euro and the pound sterling are examples of currencies that have strengthened significantly. The euro stabilized at around $1.17 after surging more than 13% last year, while the pound sterling held around $1.34 after...
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...