Oil prices stabilized on Thursday (February 12th), as the market reassigned a risk premium to US-Iran tensions despite US inventory data showing swelling domestic supplies. This movement confirms one thing: geopolitical headlines are still more "noise" than signals of a short-term surplus. As of 3:50 PM WIB, Brent was at $69.60/barrel (+0.29%) and WTI was at $64.83/barrel (+0.31%). The gains were moderate, but enough to keep prices near the psychological $70 level for Brent. From a geopolitical perspective, market focus is on the potential for escalation in the Middle East. Recent reports...
Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng is set to meet U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer from Friday, as the world's two largest economies try to ease an unexpected flare-up in tension ahead of a key leaders' summit. The commerce ministry said He, China's top economic official, will visit Malaysia from October 24 to 27 for a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations it is hosting. Earlier, the top U.S. trade officials said they would also head to Malaysia to discuss Beijing's curbs on exports of rare earths with Chinese officials. Tension has...
The Trump administration announced on Wednesday new sanctions targeting Russia's two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, as part of efforts to pressure Moscow to end the war in Ukraine, which began with Russia's 2022 invasion. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated, "Now is the time to stop the killing and for an immediate ceasefire," adding that the companies "fund the Kremlin's war machine." The sanctions also extend to dozens of their subsidiaries. Bessent emphasized that Treasury is ready to take further action to support President Trump's push to end the conflict and urged...
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said he and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will head to Malaysia on Wednesday to meet with Chinese officials regarding what he called "very aggressive" and "disproportionate" measures Beijing has taken to curb rare earth mineral exports. Greer told CNBC's "Squawk Box" that a meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping is still scheduled, but it would be a mutual decision if the meeting takes place on the sidelines of an economic conference in South Korea next week. Trump is scheduled to travel to Kuala Lumpur for the...
Shutdown pemerintah AS sudah masuk hari ke-22 (22 Oktober 2025), menjadikannya kedua terpanjang dalam sejarah. Di Senat, pemungutan suara untuk membuka kembali pemerintahan sudah 11 kali gagal, sehingga kebuntuan makin panjang. Presiden Donald Trump menyatakan baru akan bertemu pimpinan Demokrat setelah pemerintah dibuka kembali, sementara kubu Republik mulai mengakui bahwa perlu ada RUU pendanaan sementara (CR) untuk keluar dari situasi ini. Dampaknya makin terasa ke layanan publik penting. Lembaga peradilan federal mulai merumahkan (furlough) pegawai karena dana cadangan habis;...
The U.S. government shut down much of its operations on October 1 after Republicans and Democrats failed to reach an agreement to extend funding past the end of the federal fiscal year on September 30. The closure has shut off the flow of key economic data at a moment of uncertainty among policymakers and investors about the health of the U.S. job market, the trajectory of inflation and the strength of consumer spending and business investment. The federal agencies responsible for indicators of U.S. economic activity, including the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bureau of Economic Analysis...
U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday he expects to reach a "fair trade deal" with Chinese President Xi Jinping and downplayed fears of conflict over Taiwan, even as tensions linger. Trump told reporters he did not believe China intended to invade Taiwan but acknowledged the issue would likely come up during their meeting next week on the sidelines of an economic conference in South Korea. However, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer struck a tougher tone later in the day, accusing Beijing of a "broader pattern of economic coercion" against companies making strategic investments in...
The 20-day US federal government shutdown is likely to end this week, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said on Monday. "I think the Schumer shutdown is likely to end this week," White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said in an interview on CNBC, referring to Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer. Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, said his "friends in the Senate" believe it was "bad optics for Democrats to open the government before the 'No Kings' protests, and that now there's a chance things will improve this week." Protesters of all ages took to the...
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Friday he expects to meet next week with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Malaysia to try to forestall an escalation of U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods that President Donald Trump said was unsustainable. Bessent made the announcement during a White House cabinet meeting and later confirmed plans for a meeting after a call with He on Friday evening. Bessent said on X the two officials "engaged in frank and detailed discussions regarding trade between the United States and China." "We will meet in-person next week to continue our discussions,"...
Gold rises in the early Asian trade. There's a broad commodities uptrend, driven by macro uncertainty, a weaker dollar, and persistent demand for "hard" assets, says Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst...
Oil extended declines after OPEC+ agreed to a bigger-than-expected production increase next month, raising concerns about oversupply just as US tariffs fan fears about the demand outlook.
Brent...
The Japanese Yen (JPY) weakened against its US counterpart and reversed part of Friday's recovery from the lowest level since July 23 following Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Kazuo Ueda's remarks....