Gold rose more than 1.5% in mid-day trading on Monday, June 2, benefiting from a decline in risk appetite in markets caused by rising geopolitical tensions and tariffs, as well as a decline in the US dollar. Gold is trading up approximately 1.78% at $3,347 per ounce, while silver is trading at $33.25 per ounce, up 0.86%. Safe-haven currencies and...
Crude oil prices rose more than 2% at the start of trading in the European session today, Monday, June 2, the opening session of the week, after OPEC+ decided to increase production less than expected over the weekend. This supported crude oil markets, in addition to rising geopolitical tensions related to Ukraine and Iran. Brent crude rose by about 2.18%,...
Data released just moments ago from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis showed that U.S. personal income rose by $210.1 billion in April, up 0.8% from 0.5% in March. The Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Index, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation measure, rose by 0.2% to $47.8 billion, compared to March's reading of 0.7%. The PCE rose by 2.1% year-over-year, compared...
Asian markets closed lower on Friday, May 30, the closing session for the week and for May. Japan's Nikkei index fell more than 450 points as Japanese government bond yields declined, but it maintained its weekly gains. Declining auto prices weighed on Chinese indices. Regarding economic data released this morning, figures released from Tokyo showed that core inflation, which excludes...
Australian retail sales fell 0.1% month-on-month in April, according to data released Thursday morning by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, to $37,208.4 million. This fell short of expectations for a 0.3% increase, while the index rose 3.8% year-on-year. In detail, food retail trade fell by about 0.3% to $38.3 million in April, while clothing, footwear, and accessories trade declined by...
The three major US stock indexes registered gains at the opening of trading today, Thursday, May 29, as risk appetite improved in the markets following a US court's decision to reject the tariff increase. The Nasdaq led the session's gains, gaining more than 1%, following Nvidia's better-than-expected first-quarter results. A panel of judges at the US Court of International Trade...
The minutes of the US Federal Reserve's two-week meeting, May 6-7, released at the end of trading on Wednesday, showed that many Fed members were concerned about the impact of tariffs on inflation and the rising likelihood of a recession. The US Federal Reserve held interest rates steady at its last meeting for the third consecutive time, with risks of...
Crude oil prices are recording some gains in mid-trading on Wednesday, May 28, after two consecutive sessions of decline since the beginning of the week, influenced by market expectations of a further increase from OPEC+ at its meeting early next week. Crude oil is benefiting today from Chevron's decision to ban crude exports from Venezuela and some additional factors amid...
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand's (RBNZ) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to cut the official cash rate (OCR) by 25 basis points to 3.35% at its meeting this morning, Wednesday, May 28, as expected, for the sixth consecutive meeting. The statement issued by the Bank indicated that annual consumer price inflation rose to 2.5% in the first quarter of...
New orders for durable goods fell in April after four consecutive months of growth, according to a report released by the U.S. Census Bureau just moments ago. Orders fell by $19.9 billion, or 6.3%, to $296.3 billion, compared to a 7.6% increase in March. This indicator bested market expectations of a decline of about 7.6%. Meanwhile, core orders excluding transportation...