Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Wednesday, Oct 01, 2025

Gold, oil rise on Ukraine crisis; U.S. stocks end flat

Gold, oil rise on Ukraine crisis; U.S. stocks end flat

Oil and gold rose on Wednesday after NATO and the United States said Russia was increasing its troop build-up near Ukraine, while a dovish reading of minutes from the last Federal Reserve meeting helped stocks close mostly flat on Wall Street.

Stronger-than-expected U.S. retail sales data and higher inflation readings from Canada and Britain added to the outlook for tighter monetary policy worldwide, but geopolitical tensions kept markets for the most part focused on the Ukraine standoff.

Fed policymakers agreed it was time to raise interest rates but that any decision would depend on an analysis of inflation and other data each time they met, minutes from their two-day meeting in late January showed.

"The reading of the Fed minutes is less hawkish, less aggressive rate hikes, at least initially," said Tim Ghriskey, senior portfolio strategist at Ingalls & Snyder.

"The minutes are little bit more dovish than we heard (Fed Chair Jerome) Powell talk in the post Fed meeting press conference in January," Ghriskey added.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) fell 0.16%, the S&P 500 (.SPX) gained 0.09% and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) dropped 0.11%. All 11 sectors of the S&P early in the session were higher, with the exception of the energy index (.SPNY), but stocks pared losses after the Fed minutes came out.

MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe (.MIWD00000PUS) reversed course to post a 0.32% gain, while its emerging markets index (.MSCIEF) rose 1.23%.

Sharp gains earlier in Asian equity markets on Tuesday's news that Russia was withdrawing some troops faded in the European session, with the STOXX 600 pan-European index (.STOXX) ceding some early gains to close barely up 0.04%.

NATO questioned Moscow's stated willingness to negotiate a solution to the crisis, one of the deepest in East-West relations in decades, and accused Russia of increasing its massive military build-up surrounding Ukraine.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken backed the assessment, an outlook that lifted the price of safe-haven gold and boosted crude oil along with related assets as supply would be further constrained by an invasion.

"There are not really any signs of de-escalation. That's going to put commodities likely on firmer footing given that extent supply and inventories are really low," said Bipan Rai, North America head of FX strategy at CIBC Capital Markets.

U.S. crude futures rose $1.59 to settle at $93.66 a barrel, while Brent settled up $1.53 at $94.81.

The Russian ruble gained 0.64% to 75.12 per dollar as fears of immediate military action waned, for the moment.

Earlier, U.S. retail sales rebounded sharply in January amid a surge in purchases of motor vehicles and other goods, but higher prices could blunt the impact on economic growth this quarter. L1N2UR17V

Data showed retail sales rose 3.8% last month, almost double the consensus forecast by economists of a 2.0% gain.

Spot gold , which on Tuesday hit the highest level since June 2021 at around $1,879 per ounce, added 0.8% to $1,867.51.

U.S. gold futures settled down 0.8% at $1,871.50.

Inflation was still a market concern as data in Britain showed consumer prices increased at the fastest annual pace in nearly 30 years, reinforcing chances that the Bank of England will raise rates for a third meeting in a row.

Canada's annual inflation rate accelerated again in January to hit a fresh 30-year high of 5.1%, bolstering the case for a steady series of interest rate hikes.

U.S. Treasury and euro zone government bond yields extended their decline. The yield on 10-year Treasury notes was down 0.5 basis points to 2.040%.

The two-year U.S. Treasury yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations, fell 3.4 basis points to 1.535%. Earlier it touched a low of 1.496%.

The dollar index fell 0.215%, with the euro up 0.18% to $1.1376.


3-Month, 10-Year curve
Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Trump Backs Putin’s Land-for-Peace Proposal Amid Kyiv’s Rejection
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
United States Sells Luxury Yacht Amadea, Valued at Approximately $325 Million, in First Sale of a Seized Russian Yacht Since the Invasion of Ukraine
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
×