Gold prices fell – today, Wednesday – as demand for riskier assets picked up, oil rose and the dollar rose slightly against most major currencies as fears of a widening global banking crisis receded.
Spot gold fell to $1961.80 an ounce at 07:49 GMT after rising 1% on Tuesday. US gold futures fell For 1963.10 dollars.
Yesterday’s data showed that US consumer confidence rose unexpectedly in March, while the US goods trade deficit posted a modest increase in February.
For other precious metals:
- Silver fell to $23.15 an ounce.
- Platinum fell to $962.05.
- Palladium lost $1,414.64.
The dollar is stable
The dollar rose slightly against most major currencies – today Wednesday – to stabilize after falling in the past few sessions, and rose sharply against the yen, which has seen volatility since the end of the Japanese fiscal year.
The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s performance against 6 major currencies, rose 0.15% to 102.64 points and is expected to post a 2.1% monthly loss, having fallen over the past two sessions. Market turmoil due to problems in the banking sector.
The euro fell to $1.0834, while the pound sterling eased slightly to $1.2316, just below a nearly two-month high of $1.2348 hit in the last session, and the Australian dollar slipped to $0.6674.
The yen’s volatility continued at the end of the Japanese fiscal year on Friday.The dollar hit a one-week high to hit 131.99 yen in recent trades, while the euro rose 0.6% to 142.9 yen against the Japanese currency.
The yen hit its highest level in nearly two months against both the dollar and the euro last week, benefiting from demand for safe-haven assets.
Bitcoin rose 3% to $28,142, stabilizing after falling after problems faced by the largest digital currency exchange “Binance”, which faces a lawsuit from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Oil is rising
Oil prices rose for a third day in early Asian trade on Wednesday as some exports from Iraqi Kurdistan halted, raising concerns about supply shortages, and market sentiment improved, easing fears of a banking crisis.
Brent crude rose to $79.07 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude rose to $73.79 a barrel.
Oil prices rose after Iraq was forced to halt exports of about 450,000 barrels per day from the northern Iraqi Kurdistan region via Turkey.
Prices were supported by lower US crude inventories last week.
Market sources cited figures released by the American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday that showed US crude inventories fell by about 6.1 million barrels in the week ended March 24.
Gasoline stocks fell by about 5.9 million barrels, while distillate stocks rose by about 550,000 barrels.
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