Help
Investors eye OPEC+ decision next week
The producer group postponed its weekend meeting to avoid a clash with another event
Oil prices held steady after a surprise rise in U.S. gasoline inventories, with Brent at $72.65 and WTI near $68.90.
The euro steadied after hawkish ECB comments, reducing aggressive rate cut expectations.
Dollar rose slightly after a two-week low; the yen gained 1.9% this week, driven by rate hike expectations in Japan.
Currencies
The dollar slightly rose from a two-week low against its major counterparts in holiday-thinned trading on Thursday, while the yen was on track for its strongest week in nearly three months, driven by growing expectations that Japan will raise interest rates in December.
The yen dipped 0.5% to 151.93 per dollar, but with a 1.9% gain this week, it has recovered losses incurred since the U.S. election. Markets now see about a 65% probability that the Bank of Japan will increase rates next month.
The euro stabilized after its significant gain on Wednesday, which followed hawkish comments from European Central Bank board member Isabel Schnabel.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Schnabel suggested that rate cuts should be gradual and aim for a neutral, rather than accommodative, stance. Her remarks led investors to scale back expectations for aggressive rate cuts, driving demand for the euro.
Crypto
Bitcoin remained just under $96,000, eyeing the $100,000 mark after failing to surpass it the previous week.
The cryptocurrency has set a series of records since the Nov. 5 presidential election, driven by growing expectations that the incoming Trump administration will adopt a pro-crypto stance.
Commodities
Oil prices remained steady following a surprising rise in U.S. gasoline inventories and the delay of the OPEC+ meeting on output policy, which was pushed from Dec. 1 to Dec. 5.
Brent crude rose to $72.65 per barrel, while WTI hovered near $68.90.
