Gold dips but still marks weekly profits
Gold prices fell on Thursday as the dollar stabilized against most major rivals, with the precious metal still marking weekly gains.
US President Donald Trump ordered a full tariff review of US critical minerals imports in another escalation in his trade war with global trade partners.
Otherwise, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said that tariffs and the ongoing trade war between the US and the world, especially China, could weaken the Fed’s ability to contain inflation and boost US growth.
Powel expects inflation to rise and growth to slow down, but it’s still not clear which one of them needs more focus amid trade uncertainty.
Powell said the Fed is assuming a wait and see stance until the dust clears before taking a monetary policy decision.
He also expects the economy to move away from full employment and contained inflation targets due to the impact of tariffs.
In response, Trump criticized Powell and said his “termination couldn’t come soon enough”.
Separately, the European Central Bank cut interest rates by 25 basis points to 2.25% as expected by most analysts today.
It’s the seventh consecutive rate cut as the ECB attempts to boost the struggling eurozone economy amid a trade war with the US.
ECB President Christine Lagarde said that tariffs represent a shock, but their impact on inflation remains unclear.
Otherwise, the dollar index rose 0.1% as of 18:32 GMT to 99.4, with a session-high at 99.7, and a low at 99.2.
On trading, gold spot prices fell 0.4% as of 19:54 GMT to $3334.7 an ounce, while marking a weekly profit of 2.6%.
Wall Street heads towards more losses
US stock indices fell on Thursday amid mounting concerns about the trade war and President Trump’s policies.
US President Donald Trump ordered a full tariff review of US critical minerals imports in another escalation in his trade war with global trade partners.
Otherwise, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said that tariffs and the ongoing trade war between the US and the world, especially China, could weaken the Fed’s ability to contain inflation and boost US growth.
Powel expects inflation to rise and growth to slow down, but it’s still not clear which one of them needs more focus amid trade uncertainty.
Powell said the Fed is assuming a wait and see stance until the dust clears before taking a monetary policy decision.
He also expects the economy to move away from full employment and contained inflation targets due to the impact of tariffs.
In response, Trump criticized Powell and said his “termination couldn’t come soon enough”.
On trading, Dow Jones fell 1.6% as of 14:58 GMT, or 613 points to 39,056 points, while S&P 500 shed 0.1% to 5269 points, as NASDAQ slipped 0.4% to 16,233 points.
Oil prices boosted by US sanctions on Iran
Global oil prices rose in European trade on Thursday on track for the second straight profit, with US crude scaling a week high, while Brent hit two-week highs.
It comes amid prospects of reduced supplies in the markets after Washington imposed additional sanctions to impede Iranian oil shipments, while some OPEC producers vowed productions cuts.
Prices
US crude oil price rose 1.75% today to $63.01 a barrel, with a session-low at $61.94.
Brent rose 1.45% today to $66.89 a barrel, an April 7 high, with a session-low at $65.95.
On Wednesday, US crude rose 0.7%, while Brent rallied 1.75% following strong Chinese data/
Iran Sanctions
US President Trump’s administration issued new sanctions targeting Iranian oil exports, including sanctions on Chinese refineries, raising the pressure on Tehran amid talks on Iran’s nuclear program.
OPEC Output Cuts
OPEC announced on Wednesday that it received updated plans from Iraq, Kazakhstan, and other countries to conduct production cuts in order to compensate for increased production beyond the quotas recently.
US Stocks
The Energy Information Administration reported a buildup of 0.5 million barrels in US crude stocks last week, slightly above estimates of a 0.4 million barrels build.
Total stocks are now up to 443 million barrels, the highest since July 2024 in a negative sign for demand in the US.
