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...
U.S. President Donald Trump told European leaders on Thursday that Europe must stop buying Russian oil that he said is helping Moscow fund its war against Ukraine, a White House official said, striking a combative tone amid slow diplomatic progress to end the fighting. Trump joined a call of the "Coalition of the Willing" countries, led by French President Emmanuel Macron, who were meeting in Paris on security guarantees for Kyiv in the event of a peace deal with Russia. "President Macron and European leaders called President Trump into their ‘Coalition of the Willing' meeting. President...
Activity at US service providers expanded in August at the fastest pace in six months on the sharpest acceleration in orders in nearly a year. The Institute for Supply Management's index of services rose 1.9 points last month to 52, the group said Thursday. Readings above 50 indicate expansion, and the figure topped all but one estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists. The new orders index jumped 5.7 points, the most since September, to 56. The business activity index, which parallels the ISM's factory output gauge, climbed to a five-month high of 55. The solid advance in...
High-stakes energy diplomacy in Beijing this week signals China's willingness to challenge US President Donald Trump's efforts to isolate Russia and assert US energy dominance. Chinese President Xi Jinping, sitting alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin, used this week's military parade commemorating the 80th anniversary of Japan's defeat in World War II to demonstrate Beijing's military and diplomatic clout amid escalating trade tensions with Washington. China backed up the parade with action on Tuesday, when Russian gas giant Gazprom announced that both sides had signed a legally...
US applications for unemployment benefits rose to their highest level since June, adding to evidence that the labor market is cooling. Initial claims rose 8,000 to 237,000 in the week ending August 30. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists was for 230,000 applications. Continuing claims, a proxy for the number of people receiving benefits, were little changed at 1.94 million in the previous week, according to Labor Department data released Thursday. Companies are increasingly hesitant to hire as they assess the economic impact of President Donald Trump's policies. Hiring...
Hiring at US companies was lower than expected in August, consistent with other evidence of weakening labor demand. Private-sector jobs increased by 54,000, according to ADP Research data released Thursday. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists was for a gain of 68,000. (alg) Source: Bloomberg
U.S. economic activity and employment were mostly little changed or unchanged in recent weeks while prices rose moderately or modestly, the Federal Reserve said on Wednesday, a mixed report that highlighted the impact of tariffs and other Trump administration policies on households and businesses as the central bank weighs a cut in interest rates this month. "Contacts frequently cited economic uncertainty and tariffs as negative factors," according to the Fed's "Beige Book" report, a snapshot of the nation's economic health published two weeks ahead of each central bank policy meeting....
US job openings fell in July to the lowest in 10 months, adding to other data that shows a gradually diminishing appetite for workers amid heightened policy uncertainty. Available positions decreased to 7.18 million from a downwardly revised 7.36 million reading in June, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data published Wednesday. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 7.38 million openings. Source: Bloomberg
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will urge stronger pressure on Moscow when he meets with allies in Denmark and France on Wednesday after Russian forces launched a massive airstrike on Ukraine, damaging energy and transport infrastructure. Russia launched more than 500 drones and dozens of missiles, hitting infrastructure at 14 locations across the country and injuring four railway workers, regional and Ukrainian military officials said. "This is clearly a demonstrative attack by Russia. Only because of the lack of adequate pressure, especially on Russia's war economy, does this aggression...
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....