US recap: EUR/USD hit by fragmentation debate, risk aversion

June 28 (Reuters) – The dollar index rose on Tuesday as the euro was weighed down by no-limits comments about support for euro zone members if they were to face an unjustified surge in borrowing costs, while a sharp equities selloff also supported the safe-haven US currency.

A poor German consumer confidence report also highlighted the effects of the Ukraine war on Europe’s largest economy, while US data created few ripples.

ECB policymaker Pierre Wunsch said the ECB should offer limitless support without onerous conditions to euro zone members facing an unjustified surge in borrowing costs but should be careful in granting eligibility for this aid.

The dollar index rose 0.41% to 104.4, heading toward the end of Tuesday’s session just above its 10-day moving average at 104.33.

EUR/USD fell 0.5%, sliding from its NorAm open of 1.0578.

ECB President Christine Lagarde said the bank should act in a determined and sustained manner to deal with undesirably high inflation, but also in a gradual way due to uncertainties.

The gradual comment called into question the ECB’s resolve to go all-out to arrest inflation in the near-term.

USD/JPY rose 0.5%, moving back above its 10-DMA at 135.06 after several probes below it and tests of minor Fib support at 134.27. A close above the 10-DMA puts the 2022 high at 136.71 back in focus.

GBP/USD slipped 0.61% as bulls lost resolve to test recent highs above 1.23 amid mounting post-Brexit trade uncertainties with the euro zone and the BoE’s relatively dovish rate hike path.

Support comes at 1.2170, the 50% Fib of 1.1943-1.2405 and the June 22 low at 1.2163. A close below these levels would put the lower 30-day Bolli at 1.2057 and 2022 low at 1.1934 in focus.

Bitcoin reversed early NorAm gains, down 1.9% at USD 20.3k amid a dramatic late equity selloff. ETH fell 2.7% to USD 1,155 amid intensifying risk-off flows.

(Editing by Burton Frierson; Paul Spirgel and Christopher Romano are Reuters market analysts. The views expressed are his own.)

Gold range-bound as rate hike bets and recession fears collide

June 28 (Reuters) – Gold prices were hemmed in a tight range on Tuesday as prospects of higher interest rates challenged bullion’s safe-haven appeal while recession risks boosted it.

Spot gold edged 0.1% lower to USD 1,820.31 per ounce by 2:09 p.m. ET (1809 GMT). US gold futures settled down 0.2% at USD 1,821.2.

“Gold is stuck in a range and is going to continue to be in a range in the near term. The market will only break out into a direction after it gets more economic data and information from the Federal Reserve,” said RJO Futures senior market strategist Bob Haberkorn.

Although gold is considered a hedge against inflation and economic uncertainties, rate hikes dim bullion’s appeal by increasing the opportunity cost of holding the asset which pays no interest.

“It’s a snooze-fest in gold markets. The yellow metal is being pulled in two directions as a hawkish Fed regime clashes with recession fears,” said TD Securities in a note.

Speaking at the European Central Bank’s annual conference in Portugal, President Christine Lagarde said the bank will move gradually but with the option to act decisively on any deterioration in medium-term inflation.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell is also due to speak on Wednesday.

Gold largely held its ground despite an uptick in the dollar, which usually dims bullion’s appeal for overseas buyers. US 10-year Treasury yields also rose.

“Gold remains a traders’ market – vulnerable to false breaks and quick turnarounds on little news,” City Index senior market analyst Matt Simpson said.

Meanwhile, holdings in the world’s largest gold-backed ETF, the SPDR Gold Trust GLD, recorded outflows for the past five straight sessions.

The US has issued a new round of Russia-related sanctions that prohibit imported Russian gold, the Treasury Department said on its website.

Spot silver fell 1.5% to USD 20.82 per ounce.

Platinum was steady at USD 907.99 while palladium rose 0.3% to USD 1,875.71.

(Reporting by Ashitha Shivaprasad and Bharat Govind Gautam in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)

Philippines Supreme Court rejects last bid to thwart incoming president Marcos

MANILA, June 28 (Reuters) – The Philippines Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a final bid to disqualify President-elect Ferdinand Marcos from last month’s election, clearing the way for his inauguration later this week and the return to rule of the country’s most famous dynasty.

Marcos, 64, the son and namesake of the notorious dictator overthrown in a 1986 “people power” uprising, won the May 9 election in a landslide and will be sworn in on Thursday for a six-year term.

“The court held that in the exercise of its power to decide the present controversy led them to no other conclusion but that respondent Marcos Jr is qualified to run for and be elected to public office,” the court said in a statement.

Activists had appealed to the court to overturn the election commission’s dismissal of their petitions, which sought the disqualification of Marcos before the ballot because of his decades-old tax violations, which they argued made him ineligible to run.

Thirteen justices voted to dismiss the petitions, while two did not take part, the court said.

The Marcos camp did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but has previously rejected the petitions as attempts to hobble his campaign.

Opponents of the Marcos family have been outraged by what they see as its systematic use of social media to try to alter historical narratives of plunder, opulence and state-sponsored brutality during the last era of Marcos rule.

The family and its cronies amassed an estimated $10 billion in ill-gotten wealth in the 1970s and 1980s, a government commission found. The Marcos family has denied wrongdoing and says many historical accounts of that period were falsehoods.

“We were not surprised. That (court) decision finally put an official stamp to the restoration and rehabilitation of the Marcoses,” petitioner Bonifacio Ilagan, who was jailed and tortured during Marcos senior’s martial law era, told Reuters.

(Reporting by Karen Lema and Neil Jerome Morales; Editing by Martin Petty)

Oil settles higher as major producers flag capacity limits

June 28 (Reuters) – Oil prices settled higher for a third day on Tuesday as major producers Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates looked unlikely to be able to boost output significantly while Western governments agreed to explore ways to cap the price of Russian oil.

Brent crude futures climbed USD 2.89, or 2.5%, to settle at USD 117.58 a barrel by 12:33 p.m. EDT (1633 GMT). US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude settled up USD 2.19, or 2%, to USD 111.76 a barrel.

Both contracts extended the previous session’s gains of nearly 2% after the Group of Seven economic powers vowed to ratchet up existing Western pressure on Russia from sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine.

G7 leaders have agreed to explore imposing a ban on transporting Russian oil that has been sold above a certain price, aiming to deplete Moscow’s war chest.

Russian oil export revenue climbed in May even as volumes fell, the International Energy Agency said in its June report.

Western bans on Russia and its oil and gas output have led to a sharp rise in global energy prices, and other major producers have yet to implement a significant boost to supplies.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been seen as the only two members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries with spare capacity to make up for lost Russian supply and weak output from other member nations.

“A seam of tight supply news bolstered the market. Two major producers, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, are said to be at, or very close to, near‑term capacity limits,” Commonwealth Bank commodities analyst Tobin Gorey said in a note.

French President Emmanuel Macron told US President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the G7 meeting that the UAE was producing at maximum capacity and Saudi Arabia could increase output by only 150,000 barrels per day, well below its nameplate spare capacity of about 2 million bpd.

“It’s seems like the rainy day barrels the market was relying on existing may not appear,” said Bob Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho.

Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei said on Monday that the UAE was producing near maximum capacity based on its quota of 3.168 million barrels per day (bpd) under the agreement with OPEC and its allies, a group known as OPEC+.

Analysts also said that political unrest in Ecuador and Libya could tighten supply further.

Meanwhile, US crude inventories were forecast to have fallen for the last two weeks, according to Reuters polls. The government’s weekly petroleum status report that should have been published last week was delayed due to a hardware issue. The data for both weeks will published together on Wednesday.

Market shortages have led to a rebound this week, countering recession jitters that weighed on prices over the previous two weeks.

(Additional reporting by Ron Bousso and Ahmad Ghaddar in London, Sonali Paul in Melbourne and Muyu Xu in Singapore; Editing by Marguerita Choy, David Evans and David Gregorio)

Gold prices steady as investors await fresh impetus

June 28 (Reuters) – Gold prices were steady on Tuesday, as traders refused to commit in either direction in the absence of market-moving catalysts.

Spot gold held its ground at USD 1,824.51 per ounce, as of 0246 GMT. US gold futures GCv1 were flat at USD 1,824.50.

A move by Britain, the United States, Japan and Canada to ban new imports of Russian gold is being seen as largely symbolic within the global bullion market, as Russian exports to the West have already dried up.

On Monday, gold was bumped higher in Asian trading by the news, before quickly losing momentum to end the session lower.

“The ‘Russian gold ban’ was the catalyst that never was. Russian assets have been a no-go since Russia’s invasion, so the G7’s confirmation of a gold ban was a non-event. And that leaves gold where it began the week – in the middle of a choppy range,” City Index senior market analyst Matt Simpson said.

Benchmark US 10-year Treasury yields eased after gains in the previous session, buoying demand for gold.

The dollar =USD was steady. Gold has been tracking the currency closely, and its strength has put a lid on prices of greenback-priced bullion in recent weeks.

“Gold remains a traders’ market – which is vulnerable to false breaks and quick turnarounds on little news. This means range-trading strategies are preferred until we see a catalyst, which instils some life back into markets,” Simpson said.

Asian shares edged down in early trade with investors taking their cues from a volatile Wall Street session overnight, while oil prices climbed following last week’s rout.

SPDR Gold Trust GLD, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings fell 0.44% to 1,056.40 tonnes on Monday from 1,061.04 tons o Friday.

Spot silver fell 0.4% to USD 21.06 per ounce, and platinum eased 0.3% to USD 905.04, while palladium rose 0.7% to USD 1,883.69.

(Reporting by Bharat Govind Gautam in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

Asia stocks edge down after Wall Street falls; oil rises

HONG KONG, June 28 (Reuters) – Asian shares edge down in early trade on Tuesday with investors taking their cue from a volatile Wall Street session overnight, while oil prices climbed following last week’s rout.

Oil continued to rise with investors still weighing worries over an economic slowdown against concern over lost Russian supply amid sanctions related to the conflict in Ukraine.

“A seam of tight supply news bolstered the (oil) market,” analysts at Commonwealth Bank of Australia said in a research note. “Political unrest might curtail supply from a couple of second-tier producers, Ecuador and Libya. And then there’s the G7’s proposed price cap on Russian oil.”

Early in the Asian trading day, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.7%. The index is down 3.8% so far this month. US stock futures, the S&P 500 e-minis, were up 0.27%.

Australian shares were up 0.25%, while Japan’s Nikkei stock index .N225 rose 0.5%.

China’s blue-chip CSI300 index was 0.4% lower in early trade. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index opened down 0.36%.

On Monday, US stocks ended a volatile trading session slightly lower with few catalysts to sway investor sentiment as they approach the half-way point of a year in which the equity markets have been slammed by heightened inflation worries and tightening Fed policy.

The major US stock indexes lost ground after oscillating earlier in the session, with weakness in interest rate sensitive megacaps such as Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN), Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) and Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) providing the heaviest drag.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2%, the S&P 500 lost 0.30% and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.72%.

Oil prices rose as the Group of Seven nations promised to tighten the squeeze on Russia’s finances with new sanctions that include a plan to cap the price of Russian oil.

US crude ticked up 0.99% to USD 110.65 a barrel. Brent crude rose to USD 116.22 per barrel.

Treasury yields climbed on Monday following capital and durable goods orders data and as pending home sales surprised to the upside from the previous month.

The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes last reached 3.1847% on Tuesday, compared with its US close of 3.194% on Monday. The two-year yield, which rises with traders’ expectations of higher Fed fund rates, touched 3.0974% compared with a US close of 3.123%.

Also, the US dollar edged lower versus major rivals as investors weighed expectations on inflation and interest rate hikes. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of currencies of other major trading partners, was down at 103.91.

Gold was slightly higher. Spot gold was traded at USD 1,824.28 per ounce.

(Reporting by Julie Zhu)

Oil climbs as major producer UAE says it has no spare capacity

MELBOURNE, June 28 (Reuters) – Oil prices rose about 1% in early Asian trade on Tuesday after the United Arab Emirates’ energy minister said the nation is producing near capacity, countering expectations that it could help boost supply in a tight market.

The UAE and Saudi Arabia have been seen as the only two countries in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) with spare capacity available to make up for lost Russian supply and weak output from other member nations.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures climbed $1.07, or 1%, to $110.64 a barrel at 0028 GMT, extending a 1.8% gain in the previous session.

Brent crude futures jumped $1.08, or 0.9%, to $116.17 a barrel, adding to a 1.7% rise in the previous session.

UAE Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei said on Monday UAE was producing near maximum capacity based on its quota of 3.168 million barrels per day (bpd) under the agreement with OPEC and its allies, together called OPEC+.

His comments confirmed remarks by French President Emmanuel Macron who told U.S. President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the Group of Seven nations meeting that the UAE was producing at maximum capacity and that Saudi Arabia could increase output by only 150,000 bpd, well below its nameplate spare capacity of around 2 million bpd.

Analysts also highlighted political unrest in Ecuador and Libya could also tighten supply further.

Libya’s National Oil Corp said on Monday it might have to declare force majeure in the Gulf of Sirte area within the next three days unless production and shipping resume at oil terminals there.

Ecuador’s Energy Ministry said the country could suspend oil output completely within the next two days amid anti-government protests. The former OPEC country was pumping around 520,000 barrels per day before the protests.

Those factors underscore shortages in the market, which have led to the market’s rebound this week, countering recession jitters that weighed on prices over the previous two weeks.

“More barrels must come to markets for oil prices to move meaningfully and steadily lower,” SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes said in a note.

(Reporting by Sonali Paul in Melbourne; Editing by Stephen Coates)

US stocks fall after recent big gains; oil, yields rise

NEW YORK, June 27 (Reuters) – US stocks ended a volatile trading session slightly lower on Monday after posting sharp gains the week before, while oil prices and Treasury yields rose.

Oil climbed following last week’s rout, as the Group of Seven nations promised to tighten the squeeze on Russia’s finances with new sanctions that include a plan to cap the price of Russian oil.

Investors have been hoping oil’s slide from three-month peaks hit earlier in June could ease overall inflation concerns and allow the US Federal Reserve to tighten policy less aggressively than initially feared.

Still, data on Monday showed new orders for US-made capital goods and shipments increased solidly in May, pointing to sustained strength in business spending on equipment in the second quarter.

Stocks moved between gains and losses during the session on Wall Street, with big growth shares leading the way down.

“It’s not shocking given we’re in a bear market that last week was a good week and this week is turning out to be a bad week,” said Jake Dollarhide, chief executive officer of Longbow Asset Management in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which has about USD 50 million in assets under management.

But given recent strong selloffs, “flat to down a little is progress,” he said.

The S&P 500 earlier this month confirmed it is in a bear market.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 62.42 points, or 0.2%, to 31,438.26, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 11.63 points, or 0.30%, to 3,900.11 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 83.07 points, or 0.72%, to 11,524.55.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.52% and MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe gained 0.31%.

A further easing of COVID-19 restrictions in China helped to support global indexes.

Treasury yields climbed after the capital and durable goods orders surprised to the upside, but the sale of two- and five-year notes was weak.

The 10-year note rose 7 basis points to 3.194% and the two-year’s yield, which can herald rate expectations, gained 6.9 basis points to 3.126%.

Brent crude futures LCOc1 settled up USD 1.97, or 1.7%, at USD 115.09 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 closed up USD 1.95, or 1.8%, at USD 109.57.

In foreign exchange, Russia’s rouble was volatile as Russia defaulted on its international bonds for the first time in more than a century, the White House and Moody’s credit agency said.

Also, the US dollar edged lower versus its major rivals as investors weighed expectations on inflation and rate hikes. The euro was helped by expectations that the European Central Bank will soon raise interest rates for the first time in more than a decade.

The dollar index fell 0.058%, with the euro up 0.23% to USD 1.0578.

Cryptocurrencies stumbled. Bitcoin last fell 0.59% to USD 20,905.04.

Spot gold dropped 0.2% to USD 1,822.89 an ounce.

(Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch in New York; Additional reporting by Danilo Masoni in Milan, Herbert Lash in New York and Hannah Lang in Washington; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Matthew Lewis)

Wall Street ends down, pulled lower by growth stocks

NEW YORK, June 27 (Reuters) – US stocks closed lower on Monday, with few catalysts to sway investor sentiment as they approach the half-way point of a year in which the equity markets have been slammed by heightened inflation worries and tightening Fed policy.

The major US stock indexes lost ground after oscillating earlier in the session, with weakness in interest rate sensitive megacaps such as Amazon.com (AMZN), Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) and Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) providing the heaviest drag.

“The reason for lack of direction this week and next week is investors are looking for what’s going to happen in the second quarter reporting period,” said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist of CFRA Research in New York.

All three indexes are on course to notch two straight quarterly declines for the first time since 2015. They also appear set to post losses for June, which would mark three consecutive down months for the tech-heavy Nasdaq, its longest losing streak since 2015.

The S&P was on track to report its fifth worst year-to-date price decline since 1962 as of Friday, Stovall said.

“Every time the SPX rose by more than 20% in a year it fell by an average of 11% starting relatively early in the new year. And all years where the decline started in the first half got back to break even before the year was out.”

“No guarantee that’s going to happen this year, but the market could surprise us to the upside,” Stovall said.

Rising oil prices CLc1 helped put energy stocks .SPNY out front, with economically sensitive smallcaps and semiconductors and transports also outperforming the broader market.

Economic data surprised to the upside, with new orders for durable goods and pending home sales beating expectations and adding credence to US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s assertion that the economy is robust enough to withstand the central bank’s attempts to rein in decades-high inflation without sliding into recession.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 62.42 points, or 0.2%, to 31,438.26, the S&P 500 lost 11.63 points, or 0.3%, to 3,900.11 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 93.05 points, or 0.8%, to 11,514.57.

Among the 11 major sectors of the S&P 500, eight ended the session in negative territory, with consumer discretionary suffering the largest percentage loss. Energy stocks were the clear winners, gaining 2.8% on the day.

With several weeks to go until second-quarter reporting commences, 130 S&P 500 companies have pre-announced. Of those, 45 have been positive and 77 have been negative, resulting in a negative/positive ratio of 1.7 stronger than the first quarter but weaker than a year ago, according to Refinitiv data.

In extended trading, Robinhood Markets (HOOD) fell 4% after FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried said his cryptocurrency exchange was in no active M&A conversations with the retail stock trading platform.

In the earlier trading session, Robinhood had jumped 14% after Bloomberg reported that FTX was exploring a deal.

During Monday’s session, Coinbase Global Inc. (COIN) dropped over 10% after Goldman Sachs downgraded that cryptocurrency exchange to “sell” from “buy”.

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1.17-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.02-to-1 ratio favored decliners.

The S&P 500 posted one new 52-week high and 29 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 24 new highs and 84 new lows.

Volume on US exchanges was 10.91 billion shares, compared with the 12.95 billion average over the last 20 trading days.

(Reporting by Stephen Culp; additional reporting by Shreyashi Sanyal and Amruta Khandekar in Bengaluru, and by Noel Randewich in Oakland, Calif.; editing by Grant McCool)

Gold edges lower, fall capped by weaker dollar and recession fears

June 27 (Reuters) – Gold prices edged lower on Monday as higher rates weighed on bullion, while investors watched for any cues on policy moves at the European Central Bank’s forum in Portugal.

Spot gold fell 0.1% to USD 1,823.89 per ounce by 2:47 p.m. ET (1847 GMT). US gold futures GCv1 settled down 0.3% at USD 1,824.8.

“Gold softened as the bond market selloff resumed after weak demand from another Treasury auction,” Edward Moya, senior analyst with OANDA, said.

“In the short term, gold’s outlook is mixed as there is great uncertainty this summer, with chances of a more aggressive Federal Reserve on one side and recession risks on the other.”

The dollar also fell and a rise in US 10-Year Treasury yields made gold less attractive.

Gold is considered a hedge against inflation spikes and economic risks, yet higher interest rates raise the opportunity cost of holding the non-yielding asset.

Investors are watching for any signs of future policy moves as central bank heads, including ECB President Christine Lagarde and Fed Chair Jerome Powell, attend the annual forum in Sintra.

Meanwhile, analysts said a plan by Britain, the United States, Japan and Canada to ban imports of Russian gold to tighten sanctions on Moscow may only have a limited fundamental impact.

“Not much gold is being exported to the G-7 nations, primarily because of the lack of flights from Russia since the war started. The impact on gold price has thus far been negligible,” Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, said.

Russia, the world’s third-largest gold producer, accounts for about 10% of global production.

Spot silver rose 0.1% to USD 21.13 per ounce, platinum was also up 0.1% to USD 908.00, while palladium fell 0.3% to USD 1,870.52.

(Reporting by Ashitha Shivaprasad and Seher Dareen in Bengaluru; Editing by Aditya Soni and Shounak Dasgupta)

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