Stories
Oil Prices Dip Amid Truce Hopes, Gold Heads for Weekly Loss on Strong Dollar
- •Oil prices marginally lower as markets weigh potential US-Iran truce against geopolitical tensions, despite recent price spikes.
- •Brent crude down 0.65% to $105.85 a barrel; West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell 1% to $93.80 a barrel.
- •Gold prices ticked up on Friday but are set for a weekly decline, pressured by a stronger dollar and expectations of sustained high Federal Reserve interest rates.
- •Spot gold rose 0.2% to $4,288.36 per ounce but is down 2% for the week; US gold futures edged 0.6% higher to $4,323.10.
- •Silver, platinum, and palladium also poised for weekly losses, with the dollar strengthening to multi-month peaks.
Key Questions Answered
Oil prices fell slightly as markets weighed the possibility of a US-Iran truce against the bombing of Saudi Arabia by Houthi rebels following a week of price spikes. Brent dropped 0.65% to $105.85 a barrel, and West Texas Intermediate fell 1% to $93.80 a barrel.
Gold prices were pressured by a stronger dollar and growing expectations that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates elevated to contain inflation. Spot gold rose 0.2% to $4,288.36 per ounce but remained down 2% for the week.
The US dollar was set for its first back-to-back weekly gains in over three months due to surging Treasury yields and mounting rate hike bets. This strength pushed the euro to a two-month low of $1.1370 and left sterling languishing near a three-month low of $1.3220.
