Oil steadied after a weekly gain as traders tracked tensions over supplies, as well as the wider mood for risk assets after the Federal Reserve signaled a return to interest-rate cuts. Brent traded near $68 a barrel after rising almost 3% last week, while West Texas Intermediate was above $63. The US has threatened to double a tariff on all imports from India to 50% in retaliation for the nation's purchases of Russian oil. Ahead of the penalty — which is set to take effect on Wednesday — Indian diplomats have said local processors would continue taking crude from...
Gold prices held firm as momentum for a US interest rate cut solidified after Fed Chairman Jerome Powell opened the door to a September rate cut. Gold reached nearly $3,370 per troy ounce, extending Friday's 1.1% gain when Powell raised risks to the labor market at Jackson Hole despite lingering inflation concerns. The 2-year Treasury yield—which is sensitive to policy—fell, while the dollar strength index weakened after the comments, boosting non-yielding, USD-priced gold. Derivatives market participants now rate the probability of a September rate cut above 85%, but the policy direction...
USD/JPY appreciates after registering around 1% losses in the previous session, trading around 147.40 during the Asian hours on Monday. However, the upside of the pair could be limited as the Japanese Yen (JPY) may regain ground after hawkish comments from the Bank of Japan (BoJ) Governor Kazuo Ueda at the Jackson Hole symposium on Saturday. BoJ Governor Ueda signaled his optimism that conditions for another interest rate hike were taking shape. He stated that wage hikes are spreading from large enterprises to small and medium enterprises and are likely to keep accelerating due to a...
The Australian Dollar (AUD) loses ground against the US Dollar (USD) on Monday after registering more than 1% gains in the previous session. The AUD/USD pair gained ground as the US Dollar depreciated amid the rising likelihood of a Federal Reserve (Fed) interest rate cut in September. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said at the Jackson Hole symposium on Friday that risks to the job market were rising, but also noted inflation remained a threat and that a decision wasn't set in stone. Powell also stated that the Fed still believes it may not need to tighten policy solely based on uncertain...
Gold slipped on Monday from a near two-week high, as the dollar crept higher, although increased expectations of U.S. interest rate cuts following Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's dovish pivot last week lent some support to bullion. Spot gold was down 0.2% at $3,364.29 per ounce, as of 0256 GMT, after hitting its highest since August 11 on Friday. U.S. gold futures for December delivery eased 0.3% to $3,409.60. The U.S. dollar index (.DXY), opens new tab rose 0.2% against its rivals after dropping to a four-week low, making gold less attractive to overseas buyers. "There's a decent...