Suspected attacks on two tankers off the coast of Iran saw oil markets erupt out...
LONDON - Suspected attacks on two tankers off the coast of Iran saw oil markets erupt out of their recent slump on Thursday and kept traders gobbling up ultra-safe government bonds, gold and the Japanese yen.
The area is near the Strait of Hormuz through which a fifth of global oil consumption passes from Middle East producers. Given that oil was at 5-month lows yesterday, people are taking precautions that it might escalate into something further. Doubts were growing too about any improvement in what U.S. President Donald Trump called ‘testy’ trade relations with China before this month’s G20 summit and some market anxiety emerged that Federal Reserve rate cut speculation may have been overdone.
“The U.S. real economy has not worsened that much. But given market expectations, the Fed will have no choice but to cut rates,” said Kozo Koide, chief economist at Asset Management One.The 10-year U.S. Treasuries yield dipped to 2.103 percent, near Friday’s 2.053 percent, its lowest level since September 2017, while Germany borrowing costs sank back toward all-time lows in Europe.
In the currency market, the yen gained 0.2% to 108.32 to the dollar as risk sentiment soured while the Australian dollar dropped 0.25% to $0.6910.
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