Oil Continues to Rise Amid Geopolitical Concerns
In early Asian trading on Monday, oil prices increased, reinforcing gains from last week,
with a nearly 4% rise, amid expectations of a supply decline.
Topic
Oil
Brent crude contracts for May delivery rose by three cents to $85.37 a barrel.
West Texas Intermediate crude contracts for April delivery increased by ten cents to $81.14 a barrel.
Geopolitical concerns remain high as the Ukrainian campaign intensifies with drone attacks on Russian oil refineries at the beginning of the week.
In the Middle East, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Sunday his intention to continue plans to penetrate Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip,
home to over a million displaced persons.
Gold
Gold Falls as Investors Await Federal Reserve Decisions:
Its prices are currently falling during Monday’s trading session, due to the dollar’s stability and investors preparing for a series of monetary decisions by major global central banks, including the Federal Reserve meeting this week.
The US central bank is expected to maintain interest rates at 5.25% – 5.5% at the end of its meeting scheduled for Wednesday.
However, there is a possibility of continued signals for longer-term interest rate hikes due to ongoing consumer and producer inflation.
Traders now anticipate a nearly 56% chance of an interest rate cut in June.
Rising interest rates reduce the attractiveness of holding non-yielding gold.
Last week, data showed a strong increase in US consumer prices in February,
as well as producer prices rising more than expected amid higher costs for goods like gasoline and food.
Dollar
The Dollar Stabilizes as Traders Anticipate Japanese Central Bank Decisions:
The dollar stabilized today as traders await central bank meetings around the world this week.
The Bank of Japan is moving towards ending its negative interest rate policy, with attention also on expected interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve
In addition to Japan and the United States, central banks in England, Australia, Norway, Switzerland, Mexico, Taiwan, Brazil, and Indonesia will hold their meetings, with most expected to keep interest rates unchanged.
Attention in Asia is focused on the Bank of Japan, where significant wage increases by major companies in Japan have raised expectations of the central bank announcing a new era by ending the negative interest rate policy, which could be announced on Tuesday.
The yen slightly retreated on Monday to 149.13 against the dollar, after reaching a more than week-low of 149.33 earlier in the session.
The currency has seen fluctuations in recent weeks, dropping to 150.88 last month, raising concerns about potential intervention by Japanese authorities.
Oil Continues to Rise Amid Geopolitical Concerns