Oil gains after U.S.-China trade deal, rise in inventories

By Ritu, Capital Sands   Oil prices rose on Thursday after the signing of an initial Sino-U.S. trade deal that sets the stage for a surge in Chinese purchases of American energy products, while U.S. crude inventories fell more than expected. Brent  was 45 cents, or 0.7%, higher at $64.45 a barrel, while U.S. crude was up […]

Bank of England’s Saunders sticks to rate cut view

By Ritu, Capital Sands Bank of England interest-rate setter Michael Saunders said on Wednesday he was sticking to his view that borrowing costs should be cut because of weakness in Britain’s labor market and its broader economy. “It probably will be appropriate to maintain an expansionary monetary policy stance and possibly to cut rates further, […]

Pound on Longest Losing Streak Since May on BOE Easing Talk

By Ritu, Capital Sands The pound extended its decline to the longest run in eight months as speculation of an imminent Bank of England interest-rate cut increased. Sterling fell as much as 0.3% against the dollar to $1.2955. Credit Agricole SA pointed out that more than half of the members of the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee are […]

Sterling Slips vs Dollar, Euro as Vlieghe Fuels Rate Hopes

By Ritu, Capital Sands The dollar opened the week stronger against the pound sterling and the Japanese yen, but weaker against the euro, with markets still unsettled by the weak labor market report on Friday. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, was effectively unchanged at 97.130. However, that masked a 0.5% rise for […]

USD/JPY Technical Analysis: Weekly close beyond 109.70/75 will be a call to bulls

By Ritu, Capital Sands USD/JPY trades positive near the two-week high, on a five-day winning streak. Bullish engulfing on the weekly chart confronts 109.48/52 resistance confluence. 200-week SMA adds to the resistance. USD/JPY takes the bids to 109.55 during the initial trading session on Friday. In doing so, the pair registers a bullish candlestick formation on the […]

China’s Vice Premier Liu to sign U.S. trade deal in Washington next week

By Ritu, Capital Sands China’s Vice Premier Liu He, head of the country’s negotiation team in Sino-U.S. trade talks, will sign a “Phase 1” deal in Washington next week, the commerce ministry said on Thursday. Liu will visit Washington on Jan. 13-15, said Gao Feng, spokesman at the commerce ministry. Negotiating teams from both sides […]

Safe-haven currencies retreat as U.S., Iran seen defusing crisis

By Ritu, Capital Sands The Japanese yen and Swiss franc retreated on Thursday as the United States and Iran backed away from the brink of further conflict in the Middle East. U.S. President Donald Trump responded overnight to an Iranian attack on U.S. forces with sanctions, not violence. Iran offered no immediate signal it would […]

Oil Prices Up After Iran Attacks Two U.S.-Iraqi Airbases, Sparking More Conflicts

Oil slips as surge in virus cases cloud demand recovery

By Ritu, Capital Sands Oil prices jumped on Wednesday in Asia after Iran attacked two U.S.-Iraqi airbases in response to a U.S. airstrike that killed a top Iranian general last week, sparking worries of intensifying conflict in the Middle East. Overnight, the Pentagon said missile strikes were launched from Iran and targeted the Ayn al-Asad […]

Swiss franc holds gains, yen steady as traders eye Iran

By Ritu, Capital Sands The Swiss franc held gains against the dollar on Tuesday as traders sought save-havens amid heightened anxiety about potential Iranian retaliation to a U.S. drone strike that killed its most prominent military commander. The yen, another safe-haven currency, pulled back from a three-month high versus the dollar, but sentiment remains fragile […]

BNP Joins JPMorgan in Setting Up Singapore Currency Trading Hub

By Ritu, Capital Sands BNP Paribas  is planning to join JPMorgan Chase  & Co. and Citigroup Inc . by setting up an electronic currency trading and pricing platform in Singapore. The facility will support electronic trading of 50 currencies in spot, forward, swaps, non-deliverable forwards and options, according to a company statement. It will also […]