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Geoff Yu reports that a Qatari LNG carrier was struck near the Strait of Hormuz, reviving security concerns and lifting European gas prices and Brent, WTI, Omani and Dubai crude benchmarks. He notes fragmented shipping routes, heightened shipowner anxiety, and warns that the incident pressures already fragile U.S.–Iran peace discussions and Qatar’s LNG export plans.Hormuz tensions underpin energy risk”A Qatari LNG carrier, the Al Rekayyat, was struck by a projectile near the Omani coast as it left the Strait of Hormuz, highlighting renewed security risks in the key shipping lane and testing a U.S.-Iranian understanding aimed at curbing attacks.””The incident…

Here is what you need to know on Tuesday, July 7:Markets turn cautious on Tuesday as investors pay close attention to headlines coming out of the Middle East amid a lack of high-impact data releases. In the second half of the day, United States (US) Goods Trade Balance data for May will be featured in the economic calendar, alongside the Automatic Data Processing’s (ADP) Employment Change 4-week Average.The US Dollar (USD) started the week on a firm footing and gathered strength against its major rivals in the first half of the day. The improving risk mood, as reflected by the…

The rupee appreciated 15 paise to 95.28 against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday on improved market sentiment after reports that Saudi Arabia has slashed August crude oil prices for Asia amid easing of geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Forex traders said lower Middle East risk premium and higher traffic from the Strait of Hormuz kept the oil prices lower. At the interbank foreign exchange market the rupee opened at 95.33 and later touched 95.28 against the American currency, registering a gain of 15 paise from its previous close.On Monday, the rupee had settled at 95.43 against…

The USD/JPY pair extends the previous day’s late pullback from the vicinity of mid-162.00s and attracts some follow-through sellers during the Asian session on Tuesday. Spot prices drop to the 161.70-161.65 region in the last hour, though the downside remains cushioned in the absence of any intervention by Japanese authorities and a supportive fundamental backdrop.Reports last week suggested that Japanese officials are abandoning their traditional habit of telegraphing intervention risks and are starting to focus on targeting speculators. The immediate market reaction, however, seems to have faded as no action has been taken yet. Moreover, the wide gap in borrowing…

The British Pound rallies to an 18-year high against the Japanese Yen, registering solid gains of over 0.77% as the GBP/JPY clears the previous year-to-date (YTD) high of 216.60 as the cross-pair clears the 217.00 figure for the first time since January 2008. At the time of writing, the GBP/JPY trades at 217.11.GBP/JPY Price Forecast: Technical outlookThe GBP/JPY formed a ‘bullish harami’ chart pattern on Friday, also known in the West as an ‘inside day’, which opened the door for further upside, once the pair cleared the July 2 high of the day (HOD) at 216.08, which exacerbated the leg-up…

The Pound Sterling steadies during the North American session, as the week begins in a risk-off mood, as evidenced by overall US Dollar strength in the FX markets, even though soft jobs data and trimmed hawkish Fed bets for the rest of the year. At the time of writing, the GBP/USD trades at 1.3357 after reaching a daily low of 1.3328.GBP/USD steadies as Dollar demand offsets softer Fed repricingLast week’s US jobs report missed estimates, while figures for April and May were downwardly revised, triggering a repricing of a less hawkish Federal Reserve. Nevertheless, the Unemployment Rate is within the…

The rupee closed 20 paise weaker at 95.39 against the dollar on Monday, making it a three-week low on higher dollar demand.The rupee opened the day at 95.23 a dollar as compared with previous close of 95.18 and depreciated to 95.48 intra-day before retreating a bit at the close of the market.The Indian currency came under pressure on higher dollar demand as traders chased fresh arbitrage opportunities between the local foreign exchange market and offshore non-deliverable ‌forwards market, market participants said.The rise in the dollar index also contributed to the rupee’s weakness, they said. The dollar index was seen hovering…

The Indian rupee depreciated by 20 paise to close at 95.38 against the US dollar on Monday as a stronger greenback pressured emerging market currencies. The rupee depreciated 20 paise to close at 95.38 (provisional) against the US dollar on Monday, as a strengthening greenback weighed on emerging market currencies.At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 95.25 against the American currency and traded in a range of 95.22-95.48 during the session.The rupee finally closed at 95.38 (provisional), down 20 paise from its previous close.On Friday, the rupee appreciated 17 paise to close at 95.18 against the US…

Gold (XAU/USD) edges lower on Monday as a firmer US Dollar (USD) and mild profit-taking cap gains following last week’s rebound from a more than seven-month low of $3,941. At the time of writing, XAU/USD trades around $4,153 after briefly climbing above the $4,200 level during the Asian trading session.Despite the intraday pullback, Gold remains supported, as weaker-than-expected US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) data released on Thursday have reduced expectations of an immediate Federal Reserve (Fed) interest rate hike.Meanwhile, Oil-driven inflation risks are also easing as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz continues to improve following last month’s signature of a…

ING’s Chris Turner highlights a sizeable downside breakout in EUR/GBP driven by stale Sterling shorts and lower FX volatility reducing appetite to pay carry. He sees that mindset persisting near term but warns UK politics could return later in July, with limited fiscal space and no Bank of England hikes expected, potentially prompting Sterling to give back some gains.Sterling breakout and looming UK politics”EUR/GBP delivered a sizeable downside breakout last week, which should be respected. Helping that move were stale sterling shorts and a view that if volatility was falling this summer, there was no point in paying away 2%…