Oil prices rose on Monday after officials said the U.S. had intercepted an oil tanker in international waters off the coast of Venezuela, raising fresh supply uncertainty. Brent crude futures gained 57 cents, or 0.9%, to $61.04 per barrel by 0751 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 55 cents, or 1.0%, to $57.07. "The market is waking up to the fact that the Trump administration is taking a hardline approach to the Venezuelan oil trade," said June Goh, senior oil market analyst at Sparta Commodities. "Oil prices have thus been supported by this geopolitical news alongside...
The dollar index held at 98.6 on Monday after a modest gain last week, with trading expected to be quiet this week due to the Christmas holiday. Investor attention will mainly be on the second estimate of GDP for the third quarter, set for release on Tuesday, which may offer further insights into the economy's health and the Federal Reserve's interest rate path. Traders currently anticipate that the Fed could deliver two 25bps rate reductions next year, amid signs of easing inflation and a weakening labor market. Meanwhile, Fed Bank of Cleveland President Beth Hammack on Sunday said that...
The U.S. dollar drifted lower on Monday after logging some gains last week, while threats of government intervention helped the Japanese yen recover mildly from recent losses. Regional markets showed little reaction to the People's Bank of China leaving a benchmark interest rate unchanged as widely expected. Risk appetite was dampened by increased geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela, while markets were also on guard over renewed hostilities between Israel and Iran. The dollar found some strength last week as soft inflation data was insufficient in convincing markets that...
Gold (XAU/USD) surges to fresh record highs on Monday, as escalating geopolitical tensions bolster safe-haven demand. At the time of writing, XAU/USD is trading around $4,413, up about 1.70% on the day, after breaking above the October 21 peak near $4,381. The precious metal is on track for its strongest annual performance since 1979, with prices up nearly 67% year to date. The rally has been fuelled by a dovish Federal Reserve (Fed) stance, broadly weaker US Dollar (USD), sustained central-bank buying, and record inflows into Gold-backed ETFs. Looking ahead, markets continue to anticipate...
Gold and silver surged to all-time highs, as rising geopolitical tensions and bets on further U.S. interest rate cuts added momentum to their best annual performance in more than four decades. Gold and silver rose 2.1% to surpass their previous record of $4,381 an ounce set in October, while silver gained 3.4%, approaching $70 an ounce. This move extended a remarkable rally that has put both metals on track for their strongest annual performance since 1979. This latest surge came as traders bet the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates twice by 2026, and as U.S. President Donald Trump...