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...
China on Thursday accused the U.S. of stoking panic over its rare earth controls and said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had made "grossly distorted" remarks about a top Chinese trade negotiator, rejecting a White House call to roll back the curbs. The official newspaper of the governing Communist Party also issued a seven-point rebuttal after top U.S. negotiators suggested Beijing could avert President Donald Trump's threat to impose 100% tariffs on Chinese goods by scrapping the measures set to take effect on November 8. While investors are relieved the world's top two economies have...
US President Donald Trump said he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a day before meeting with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskiy. "This conversation is ongoing, it's lengthy, and I will report on its contents, as will President Putin, eventually," Trump wrote on social media on Thursday. Trump has expressed frustration with Putin over the Russian leader's refusal to halt fighting in Ukraine or meet directly with Zelenskiy for peace talks. Zelenskiy is expected to ask Trump for more advanced weaponry when they meet on Friday at the White House. Trump has indicated in recent...
Australia's unemployment rate jumped to 4.5% in September, its highest level since 2021. This figure was worse than expected and indicates that the labor market is starting to weaken. Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics also showed that only 14,900 new jobs were added last month, although the labor force participation rate rose slightly to 67%. This situation has reinforced speculation that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) may cut interest rates again as soon as next month. Following the release of this data, the Australian dollar fell 0.4%, while the yield on three-year...
Ukraine has imposed emergency power outages in all but two regions following a series of Russian attacks that have crippled the country's energy system, officials said Wednesday. Russia has stepped up attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities ahead of winter, seriously damaging gas production and plunging major cities, including the capital, Kyiv, into darkness. In a statement, the Ukrainian Energy Ministry said the impact of the recent attacks had forced it to implement the power outages. Planned power outages have been implemented in the eastern Donetsk and northern Chernihiv...
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Tuesday that it was up to China whether the planned 100% tariffs on its exports would take effect on November 1 or sooner, noting it may be difficult for Beijing to find a way out. Speaking to CNBC, Greer confirmed that U.S. and Chinese officials held staff-level talks in Washington Monday and said there was still a chance to resolve the dispute over critical minerals restrictions. "We think we'll be able to work through it, but again, we can't have a situation where the Chinese keep this regime in place, where they want to have veto power...
U.S. President Donald Trump remains on track to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea in late October, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, as both sides looked to ease tensions following fresh tariff threats and export controls. A return to an all-out trade war between the world's two largest economies appeared imminent late last week, after China announced on Thursday a major expansion of its rare earths export controls. Trump responded on Friday by threatening to raise tariffs on Chinese goods to triple-digits, sending markets and U.S.-China relations into a tailspin. But...
President Donald Trump arrived in the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh on Monday for a summit with several other world leaders aimed at ensuring the US-led ceasefire deal for Gaza turns into a real peace deal. The leader flew in from Israel, where he addressed the country's parliament and was praised for last week's agreement that resulted in a weekend ceasefire in Gaza and the release of 20 surviving hostages held in the Palestinian territory. They were freed on Monday, as were nearly 2,000 Palestinians held in Israeli jails. "They played a very important role, and they had a very...
President Donald Trump's administration on Sunday signaled openness to a trade deal with China, even as tensions escalated over Beijing's new export controls. The gesture followed Trump's Friday announcement of a sweeping 100% tariff on all Chinese imports starting November 1, in retaliation for China's restrictions on rare earth exports. Vice-President J.D. Vance urged Beijing to "choose the path of reason," arguing Trump holds more leverage if the dispute drags on. Trump struck a conciliatory tone on Truth Social: "Don't worry about China, it will all be fine! Highly respected President...
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....