Powell cautious on easing as USD rises, gold consolidates.

On Wednesday, the US dollar index continued to rise throughout the day and briefly approached the $98 mark, but failed to break above it, ultimately closing up 0.66% at 97.86. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield closed at 4.152%, while the 2-year Treasury yield sensitive to the Federal Reserve policy rate closed at 3.612%. The gold price experienced a significant decline on Wednesday, with spot gold falling 1.25% to $3717.63 per ounce, ultimately closing at $3735.88 per ounce. The US dollar index and US Treasury yields rebounded, and concerns about the geopolitical situation cooled down. Market bulls took profits to meet demand, jointly driving the downward trend of gold prices. Due to the unexpected decrease in crude oil inventories in the United States last week, coupled with export disruptions from Iraq, Venezuela, and Russia, market concerns about tight supply have intensified. As a result, the two oil companies have continued their upward trend, rising more than 2% at one point during the day. WTI crude oil started to rise in the pre session of the US market and briefly approached $65 before slightly falling back, ultimately closing up 1.76% at $64.64 per barrel; Brent crude oil ultimately closed up 1.64% at $68.32 per barrel, reaching a new high in nearly 7 weeks.