Gold (XAU/USD) hits a nearly three-week low during the Asian session on Wednesday, with the bears now awaiting a sustained break below the 100-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) before positioning for further losses. The US Dollar (USD) is seen prolonging its steady uptrend for the third straight day amid diminishing odds for a more aggressive policy easing by the Federal Reserve (Fed). This, in turn, is seen as a key factor undermining the non-yielding bullion. Apart from this, hopes for a Russia-Ukraine peace deal exert additional downward pressure on the safe-haven Gold. Moving ahead,...
Oil prices rose on Wednesday as the American Petroleum Institute reported a decline in U.S. crude inventories, and investors awaited the next steps in negotiations to end the Ukraine war, with sanctions on Russian crude remaining in place for now. Crude prices fell more than 1% on Tuesday amid optimism that a deal to end the war appeared closer. However, U.S. President Donald Trump acknowledged that Russian President Vladimir Putin may not want to reach a deal. Brent crude rose 55 cents, or 0.8%, to $66.34 a barrel at 08:12 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery,...
Gold edged higher on Wednesday (August 20th) but remained near a three-week low, as investors awaited the minutes of the Federal Reserve's July meeting and this week's Jackson Hole, Wyoming, central banking symposium for clues on further interest rate cuts. Spot gold rose 0.2% to $3,321.33 an ounce, as of 08:32 GMT, after hitting its lowest level since August 1st. U.S. gold futures for December delivery rose 0.2% to $3,364.20. The U.S. dollar index steadied after hitting a more than one-week high earlier in the session, making gold more expensive for holders of other currencies. "Spot gold...
The pound (GBP) attracted significant buying interest against other major currencies on Wednesday as the UK Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for July showed a larger-than-expected increase. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that headline inflation rose at an annual rate of 3.8%, faster than the 3.7% expected and the 3.6% in June, a key factor that will allow the Bank of England (BoE) to maintain its "gradual and cautious" monetary expansion guidance going forward. Core CPI - which excludes volatile items such as food, energy, alcohol, and tobacco – grew at a faster rate of...
The AUD/USD pair weakened for the third consecutive trading day on Wednesday (August 20th). The Australian currency pair slumped near 0.6425 as antipodean currencies underperformed their peers. The Australian dollar faced sharp selling pressure as financial market participants expected the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to cut interest rates again for the remainder of the year. Dovish bets from the RBA intensified as inflation in Australia has approached the central bank's desired range of 2%-3%. Earlier, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) maintained its benchmark interest rate. China's...