24 Carat Financial Services

Oil prices rose more than 1% on Wednesday to their highest in nearly a month as industry data showed U.S. crude stockpiles fell more than expected, underpinning a market already buoyed by worries over a potential U.S.-Iran conflict. Front-month Brent crude futures, international benchmark for oil, were up 1.3% at $65.91 by 0341 GMT. They earlier touched their highest since May 31 at $66 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $58.98 per barrel, up 1.8% from their last settlement. WTI earlier hit its strongest level since May 30 at $59.03 a barrel. Analysts said the gains were mainly driven by American Petroleum Institute (API) data showing a fall in U.S. crude inventories. U.S. crude stockpiles fell by 7.5 million barrels in the week ended June 21 to 474.5 million, compared with analyst expectations for a decline of 2.5 million barrels, the data showed. Crude stocks at U.S. delivery hub Cushing, Oklahoma, fell by 1.3 million barrels. ...

Oil prices reversed earlier gains on Friday but benchmark Brent crude was still set for its first weekly gain in five weeks amid rising tensions in the Middle East and on hopes for a drop in U.S. interest rates that may stimulate global growth. Brent crude was down 10 cents, or 0.16%, at $64.35 a barrel by 0458 GMT. The global benchmark jumped 4.3% on Thursday, leaving it set for a weekly gain of nearly 4%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was down 20 cents, or 0.35%, at $56.87 a barrel. But the U.S. benchmark surged 5.4% on Thursday and is on track for a more than 8% increase this week. U.S. President Donald Trump initially played down Iran's downing of a U.S. military drone earlier this week. But reports on Friday said Trump had approved strikes against Iran before pulling back, raising concerns about crucial oil supplies being disrupted after the tanker attacks last week. "There is no doubt that a severe disruption to the transit of oil through this ...

Gold prices surged as much as 1.8% to their highest in more than five years on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve signalled possible interest rate cuts later this year, sending the dollar and U.S. Treasury yields lower. Spot gold jumped 1.4% to $1,378.70 per ounce as of 0252 GMT, after hitting its highest since March 17, 2014 at $1,383.81. U.S. gold futures surged 2.5% to $1,382.70 an ounce. The Federal Reserve on Wednesday said it was ready to battle growing global and domestic economic risks with interest rate cuts beginning as early as next month, as it took stock of rising trade tensions and growing concerns about weak inflation. Lower interest rates decrease the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion and weigh on the dollar, making gold cheaper for investors holding other currencies. "The weakness in the dollar seen due to the rate cut expectations and a lot of short covering due to the sudden jump in prices are behind the sharp move,...