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...
A worst-case scenario for India on U.S. tariffs is now the base case. New Delhi called Donald Trump's decision on Wednesday to double the levy on the South Asian nation's goods to 50% because of its Russian oil purchases "extremely unfortunate". That's an understatement. Negotiating down this high rate before it goes into effect in three weeks is now an urgent priority for Narendra Modi - and will require a major compromise from the Indian leader. The new rate can inflict serious pain on the $4 trillion economy. New Delhi failed to lower the initial 25% tariff unveiled by the U.S. president...
Donald Trump said he would impose a 100% tariff on semiconductor imports, though it would exempt companies that move production back to the United States, as Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook and the president announced a $100 billion new investment plan from the Oval Office. "We're going to have a very large tariff on chips and semiconductors, but the good news for companies like Apple is, if you're building in the United States, or have committed to building, without question, committed to building in the United States, there will be no cost," Trump told reporters. "So in other words, we're going...
The United States will impose a tariff of about 100% on semiconductor chips imported into the country, President Donald Trump said on Wednesday. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that the new tariff rate would apply to "all chips and semiconductors coming into the United States," but would not apply to companies that had made a commitment to manufacture in the United States. "So 100% tariff on all chips and semiconductors coming into the United States. But if you've made a commitment to build (in the U.S.), or if you're in the process of building (in the U.S.), as many are, there is...
President Donald Trump is open to meeting Vladimir Putin as soon as next week, a White House official said on Wednesday, as the U.S. maintained plans to impose secondary sanctions on Friday in an effort to pressure Moscow to end the war in Ukraine. The New York Times (NYSE:NYT) reported that Trump would hold a trilateral meeting with Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy after meeting with the Russian leader. The report said the plans were disclosed to European leaders, including Zelenskiy, on Wednesday. "The Russians expressed their desire to meet with President Trump, and...
India is struggling to cope with the economic fallout from President Donald Trump's tariff threats, which have left officials in New Delhi shocked, disappointed, and unsure how to respond. Trump's harsh language, calling India's economy "dead," its tariff barriers "obnoxious," and its people indifferent to the plight of the Ukrainian people, was like a slap in the face, according to an official in New Delhi, who asked not to be named because the discussions were private. Officials don't have a pattern for dealing with this kind of public attack, the person said, adding that the latest...
President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the US and China are "very close" to extending their trade truce, which has curbed tariff escalation and eased restrictions on rare earth metals and technology exports. Trump added that he would meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping before the end of the year if a deal is reached. The current truce is set to expire on August 12. Last week, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng held talks in Stockholm, the third round in less than three months. Without a deal, global supply chains are likely to face renewed...
President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that Scott Bessent has declined consideration for Federal Reserve Chair while praising "both Kevins" - Kevin Warsh and Kevin Hassett - as "very good" candidates for the position. Speaking on CNBC, Trump reiterated his criticism that current Fed Chair Jerome Powell has been "too late to cut rates" and mentioned he has "two other people aside from the two Kevins in mind" for the position. The president warned he would impose a 35% tariff on European Union goods if the bloc "doesn't meet obligations" following recent trade deals with the EU and...
The ISM Services PMI unexpectedly fell to 50.1 in July 2025 from 50.8 in June, below forecasts of 51.5. The reading showed the services sector nearly stagnated, with seasonal and weather factors having a negative impact on business. A slowdown was seen for business activity/production (52.6 vs 54.2), new orders (50.3 vs 51.3) and inventories (51.8 vs 52.7). Also, price pressures intensified to the highest since October 2022 (69.9 vs 67.5), with the most common topic among survey panelists remaining tariff-related impacts, particularly in commodities. In addition, employment fell faster...
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....