The Hang Seng Index reversed its downward trend in Hong Kong on Thursday (February 12th), weakening by around 0.9% to around 27,000 after a strong session earlier. This decline halted the momentum of the short term rally, as investors began to reduce risk in large cap stocks. Among the index's contributors, Tencent was a major drag, with its shares falling by around 2.3%, putting pressure on the technology sector, which has recently been a driving force behind market gains. Weakness in large cap companies like this typically quickly impacts sentiment due to their significant weighting in...
OPEC+ may discuss an increase in oil output for July at its meeting on Saturday larger than the 411,000 barrels per day (bpd) increases it made for May and June, sources familiar with OPEC+ talks told Reuters. Eight OPEC+ countries have been raising output more rapidly than earlier planned, even though the extra supply has weighed on prices. The strategy of group leaders Saudi Arabia and Russia is partly to punish over-producing allies and to win back market share, Reuters has reported. On Saturday, the eight members may decide to increase output by 411,000 bpd for July, OPEC+ sources have...
Oil was on track for a marginal weekly decline ahead of an OPEC+ meeting on output policy that's expected to lead to another supply hike. Still, West Texas Intermediate futures edged above $61 a barrel on Friday, paring some of that weekly loss. A sub-group led by Saudi Arabia is set to meet on Saturday to decide on July production levels, following preliminary talks last week on a third consecutive supply increase. "The real story now is tomorrow's OPEC+ meeting among the eight producers that conducted voluntary cuts," said Arne Lohmann Rasmussen, chief...
The US Dollar (USD) recovers on Friday after a sharp sell-off the previous day, with investors remaining uncertain over the existence of majority of tariffs imposed by United States (US) President Donald Trump on all of his trading partners since his return to the White House this year. During European trading hours, the US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback's value against six major currencies, rises to near 99.50. Investors start doubting the sustainability of reciprocal, fentanyl, and border negligence-related-tariffs as the US Court of International Trade strike them down...
Gold price (XAU/USD) retains its negative bias below the $3,300 mark through the early European session on Friday, though it lacks follow-through selling. The US Dollar (USD) attracts some dip-buyers amid some repositioning trade ahead of the crucial US inflation report, which, in turn, is seen as a key factor undermining the commodity. However, concerns about the worsening US fiscal condition, along with bets that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will lower borrowing costs further in 2025, might cap the upside for the USD and offer support to the non-yielding yellow metal. A federal appeals...
Gold prices fell on Friday and were headed for weekly loss amid a slight uptick in dollar, while investors awaited a key U.S. inflation report that may provide further insight into the Federal Reserve's policy trajectory. Spot gold was down 0.6% at $3,3296.20 an ounc. Bullion is down 1.6% so far this week. U.S. gold futures fell 0.6% to $3,321.49. The dollar index (.DXY), opens new tab rose 0.2%, making gold more expensive for overseas buyers. "Gold prices are more or less consolidating at this point of time," said Brian Lan, managing director at GoldSilver Central, Singapore. "What we...