The U.S. Federal Reserve holds its latest policy meeting this week with a historic challenge to its leadership pending in the courts and a rushed effort underway to confirm President Donald Trump's nominee to fill an open seat on the central bank's Board of Governors. The Fed is confronting a potentially intense pace of change between Trump's attempted firing of Governor Lisa Cook and the Senate's move to approve his nominee for a separate open seat. The move against Cook is both a first-of-its-kind test of the Fed's independence but also potentially disruptive to how the central bank is...
EUR/USD slipped below the key 1.1500 level on Monday, retreating from recent highs as geopolitical risks drove demand for the US Dollar. At the time of writing, EUR/USD is trading near 1.1481, with intraday losses nearing 0.70% The move followed comments from US President Donald Trump, who called for Iran's "unconditional surrender" on Tuesday and warned Tehran to dismantle its nuclear program or face escalating consequences. He praised Israeli airstrikes as "excellent" and "very successful," warning that future operations could be "even more brutal," and urged Tehran to "make a deal now"...
Oil prices climbed over 3% on Tuesday as the Iran-Israel conflict raged with no end in sight, though major oil and gas infrastructure and flows have so far been spared from substantial impact. Brent crude futures gained $2.76, or 3.77%, to $75.99 a barrel by 12:56 p.m. CDT (1756 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up $2.50, or 3.48%, at $74.26. While there was no noticeable interruption to oil flows, Iran partially suspended gas production at the South Pars field it shares with Qatar after an Israeli strike started a fire there on Saturday. Israel also hit the Shahran oil depot in...
Gold prices retreated below the $3,400 level on Tuesday despite deteriorating risk appetite as overall US Dollar (USD) strength drove the yellow metal lower. Nevertheless, the escalation of the Israel–Iran conflict would likely underpin the precious metal due to its safe-haven appeal. At the time of writing, XAU/USD trades at $3,380, down 0.05%. Market mood is downbeat, but Bullion has failed to rally as the US Dollar stages a comeback. The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the performance of the Dollar against six major currencies, is up 0.46% at 98.58. On Monday, US President Donald...
Oil prices climbed on Tuesday as the Iran-Israel conflict raged with no end in sight, though major oil and gas infrastructure and flows have so far been spared from substantial impact. Brent crude futures gained $2.11, or 2.88%, to $75.35 a barrel by 10:44 a.m. CDT (1544 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up $1.43, or 1.99%, at $73.20. Both contracts rose more than 3% early in the session but retreated in volatile trade before bouncing back. While there was no noticeable interruption to oil flows, Iran partially suspended gas production at the South Pars field it shares with...
Gold moves higher against the US Dollar (USD) on Tuesday as traders digest mixed US Retail Sales data and monitor escalating tensions in the Middle East. At the time of writing, XAU/USD is trading around $3,392, supported by rising safe-haven demand amid renewed geopolitical risks. The latest US Retail Sales report delivered mixed signals. Headline sales fell 0.9% in May, a steeper drop than the expected 0.7% decline and the sharpest contraction since early 2024. Sales excluding autos also declined 0.3%, indicating broad-based consumer weakness. However, the control group, which directly...
President Donald Trump said he would fire Lisa Cook from the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors if she does not resign her post over mortgage-fraud accusations from a top...
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) maintained its cash rate at 4.1% during its April meeting, holding borrowing costs unchanged after slashing 25 bps in the February meeting, aligning with market...