Oil prices increased today, Wednesday, with the support of the dollar’s decline, but the increasing concerns of the slowdown in the American economy and the impact of customs duties on global economic growth limited the gains, and gold settled amid a request for a safe haven after Wall Street was negatively affected by President Donald Trump’s plans to impose customs duties.
Oil
Brent crude futures rose 0.39% to $ 69.83 a barrel in the latest transactions, and US Middle West Texas Intermediate Futures increased 0.45% to $ 66.55 a barrel.
Daniel Heinz, chief of initial commodity analysts, said that oil has maintained a positive situation despite the weak economic expectations, adding, “This is an indication that the demand for crude remains strong in the short term.”
The dollar index fell 0.5% to new low levels of 2025 yesterday, Tuesday, which supported oil prices by making it less expensive for buyers than other currencies.
The prices of American stocks, which also affect the oil market, fell again on Tuesday, which led to the continuation of the largest wave of sale in months with the concerns of investors about increasing customs duties on imports and the decline in consumer morale.
“The general morale is still fragile despite the slight recovery in today’s session,” said the market analyst at IG John Rong.
“At the present time, the oil market morale is likely to continue with the continued ambiguity of customs duties and concerns about the risks of growth in the United States,” he added.
Trump’s policies of commercial protection shook the global markets.
On the supply level, the US Energy Information Administration said yesterday that crude oil production in the United States is heading to record this year higher than previous estimates, with an average of 13.61 million barrels per day.
Investors are awaiting US inflation data scheduled for today, Wednesday, to search for indicators on the interest rate path, and they are closely monitoring the OPEC Plus Group’s plans for oil producers, which announced its intention to increase production in April.
Sources in the market, quoting the figures of the American Petroleum Institute, said that crude oil stocks rose 4.2 million barrels per week ending March 7.
Markets are now waiting for government data on US stocks issued today, Wednesday, to obtain more indicators on trading.
gold
The alloys rose 0.13% to $ 2919.40 an ounce for the immediate contracts, while investors evaluate Trump’s last step to alleviate his threat to wage a trade war against Ontario just hours after announcing the doubling of customs duties on Canadian steel and aluminum to 50%, and the president also reduced the risk of stagnation caused by customs duties.
A series of lured economic reports in the United States raised fears of inflationary stagnation, as there are risks of high inflation and the risk of low economic growth, and the slowdown in the growth of trade may lead the Federal Reserve to reduce interest rates several times this year.
However, traders will evaluate inflation reading later on Wednesday, which may show the rise in US consumer prices in February, and this may complicate the interest reduction agenda adopted by the Federal Reserve, as the monetary policy reduces positively positive for the alloys that do not benefit.
In another context, the markets were monitoring the possibility of a decline in geopolitical risks, which could reduce the demand for safe havens, and Ukraine accepted an American proposal for a 30 -day truce with Russia, as part of an agreement with the Trump administration to raise its freezing of military aid and intelligence information about Kiev.
Currency
The dollar has faced difficulty over the lowest level in 5 months against the main currencies with fears of the American economy in light of the unexpected trade policies of President Donald Trump.
The euro was raised near the highest level in 5 months, with optimism over the end of the war in Ukraine.
The Canadian dollar witnessed stability after a volatile session yesterday, Tuesday, when Trump pledged to increase customs duties on steel and aluminum to 50% before he later retracted his talk.
Canada Central Bank announces its decision on monetary policy later today, Wednesday, and traders expect another interest rates to a quarter of a percentage.
“The commercial fog is continuing, and then the fluctuations in the market continue.”
“The prospects for growth in the United States continue to deteriorate,” Roda added, noting that the consumer price index data is awaited later in the day, and he warned that it may “be a great source of fluctuations.”
The dollar index, which measures the currency performance, increased compared to 6 main currencies 0.2% to 103.50 in the latest transactions, a day after it decreased 0.46%, which prompted it to its lowest level at 103.21 for the first time since October 16.
A series of weak American economic data was issued yesterday, while the confidence of small companies decreased for the third month in a row in February.
Investors are concerned after Trump did not rule out the possibility of economic recession as a result of his commercial policies in an interview with Fox News on Sunday.
“A higher reading than expected may feed the inflationary recession, while reading weaker than expected may enhance concerns about the recession,” said the chief market analyst at Barclays Private Bank, Julian Lafarge, regarding the consumer price index data.
“What the market really needs at this stage is a better vision of growth, not inflation,” he added.
The euro settled at $ 1.0921, to remain close to the peak of the last session at $ 1.0947, the highest level since October 11.
Ukraine said on Tuesday that it would accept the American proposal with an immediate ceasefire for 30 days in the conflict with Russia.
The pound settled at 1.2941 dollars, after 0.53% in the last session.
The dollar rose 0.14% to 148.52 yen, after falling to its lowest level in 5 months at 146,545 Yena yesterday.
