Gold inches higher on US debt ceiling talks, banking sector uncertainty

Gold prices increased slightly on Monday, following a surge of over 1% last week. The rise came after the U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell gave less hawkish comments. The uncertainty over the U.S. debt ceiling outcome and the stability of the banking sector also added to the safe-haven bullion’s boost. At the moment, spot gold is up 0.2% at $1,979.79 per ounce, while U.S. gold futures were steady at $1,981.00.

Oil edges up on supply worries, G7 pledge to enforce Russian price caps

Oil prices increased slightly on Monday due to a weaker dollar and supply cuts made by Canada and OPEC+ producers. Brent crude futures rose by 0.2% to $75.72 per barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.2% to $71.84 per barrel. Last week saw gains of around 2% for both oil benchmarks, following Alberta fires, which cut off a significant amount of crude supply in Canada, and voluntary OPEC+ production cuts. A lack of crude supply may threaten the success of a new Nigerian facility, the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, where oil rig counts have reduced in the U.S.

ECGC IPO likely to be pushed to next fiscal amid volatility

The initial public offering (IPO) of state-run ECGC, India’s largest export credit insurance firm, is likely to be postponed to the next financial year due to volatile export market conditions, said sources. Factors like the Russian-Ukraine war and monetary tightening by central banks may adversely affect the company’s valuation if the IPO is rushed.