On Thursday, the US State Department notified Congress of a potential sale of up to 48 F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, while oil prices fell about 2% as concerns over supply disruptions eased.
Gold rebounded more than 2%, while Bitcoin traded near $76,500 as US equities recovered from recent losses.
US plans to sell F-35 jets to Saudi Arabia
The US State Department notified Congress that it plans to sell Saudi Arabia as many as 48 F-35 fighter aircraft in a deal that could be worth up to $24.3 billion.
The proposed sale of Lockheed Martin’s F-35 jets has been under discussion for several years.
Saudi Arabia has sought the aircraft, while Israel has raised concerns over the possibility of the first F-35 sale to a Middle Eastern country other than Israel.
President Donald Trump indicated in November that the US would sell F-35 aircraft to Saudi Arabia, ahead of a planned visit by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the White House.
The advanced technology used in the F-35 has also raised concerns because of Saudi Arabia’s growing security relationship with China.
Analysts said this could create risks around access to sophisticated US military technology.
US officials have said they can maintain Israel’s legally required qualitative military edge while proceeding with the Saudi sale, although the specific measures have not been publicly detailed.
Oil prices fall as Saudi supply concerns ease
Oil prices declined about 2% on Thursday, with Brent crude falling to a one-week low as additional Saudi crude shipments through Oman eased concerns about supply disruptions.
Brent crude futures were down 1.68% at $104.05 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate futures fell 1.16% to $101.24.
Both benchmarks had declined by about $3 on Wednesday.
Saudi Arabia is offering additional crude cargoes to Asian refiners through ship-to-ship transfers off Oman’s Sohar port.
The shipments are intended to offset some disruption caused by attacks on the East-West pipeline.
The US Energy Secretary also indicated that the pipeline could return to service more quickly than previously expected.
Saudi Arabia is seeking to restore about half of the pipeline’s capacity within days.
However, supply risks remain.
Three pumping stations serving the pipeline were damaged in an attack last week, while tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has continued to decline.
Gold rebounds more than 2%
Gold prices recovered sharply on Thursday after falling to a near six-week low in the previous session.
Spot gold rose 1.9% to $4,345.13 an ounce, while US gold futures for December delivery settled 0.07% hlower at $4,384.80.
The rebound came as oil prices eased and the US dollar weakened from a seven-week high, making dollar-priced gold more affordable for buyers using other currencies.
The benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield also declined, reducing some of the pressure from higher interest rates on non-yielding assets.
The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 25 basis points on Wednesday to 3.75%-4% and indicated that further increases could follow.
Markets were pricing a 51% chance of another rate hike in October, according to the CME FedWatch tool.
Silver rose 4.2% to $65.60 an ounce, while platinum gained 1.8% to $1,783.69 and palladium climbed 1.6% to $1,289.45.
Bitcoin trades near $76,500
Bitcoin traded near $76,500 following Thursday’s Wall Street open as US equities recovered from their recent decline.
Bitcoin had fallen below $76,000 following Wednesday’s Federal Reserve rate increase but stabilised as equity markets turned higher.
CryptoQuant’s Bull Score Index stood around 60, down from 80 previously.
The platform described Bitcoin’s trend as still bullish but said weakening momentum and macroeconomic risks could support a period of consolidation.
JPMorgan analysts also highlighted differences in institutional positioning between Bitcoin and gold.
They noted that gold ETF demand had recovered more strongly, while Bitcoin ETF demand had recovered only about half of its earlier outflows.
The analysts also pointed to relatively high short interest in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF compared with the SPDR Gold Shares ETF, suggesting Bitcoin has a different hedging and positioning backdrop.
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