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...
What are the market implications of a potential early departure of Fed Chairman Powell? This scenario seemed improbable, but for an hour on Wednesday afternoon, it seemed very real. It was initially reported that a letter had been prepared by Trump and delivered to Republican policymakers, and at one point the White House confirmed that Trump would fire Powell. Shortly thereafter, Trump said it was "unlikely" he would fire Powell, notes ING FX analyst Chris Turner. Potential for USD consolidation or slight appreciation "In that hour, we saw the reaction we expected: a steepening of the US...
President Donald Trump said Wednesday he plans to send a single letter to over 150 countries outlining the tariff rate they will face, saying, "It's all going to be the same for everyone, for that group." He noted these are "not big countries" with limited trade ties to the U.S., unlike China or Japan. All nations have faced a 10% baseline tariff since April, though Trump has hinted it could rise to 15–20%, without confirming specifics. About two dozen countries, including the EU, Japan, and South Korea, have already received individual letters with tariff rates effective August 1,...
Australia is set to release the June employment report on Thursday at 1:30 GMT. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is expected to announce that the country added 20,000 new job positions in the month, reversing the 2,500 lost positions announced in May. The Unemployment Rate is foreseen steady at 4.1%, while the Participation Rate is also expected to remain unchanged at 67%. Ahead of the announcement, the Australian Dollar (AUD) is under strong selling pressure amid fears dominating financial boards. Australian ABS reports both full-time and part-time positions through the monthly...
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday the U.S. will probably "live by the letter" on tariffs with Japan and may have another trade deal coming up with India, following his announcement of an accord with Indonesia on Tuesday. "We have some pretty good deals to announce," Trump told reporters at the start of a meeting with Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa at the White House. He said he would also discuss trade issues with the Bahraini leader. "The big one really is going to be on the 150 countries that we're really not negotiating with, and they're smaller -- we don't do...
U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday he is not planning to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, after a Bloomberg report that the president is likely to do so soon sparked a drop in stocks and the dollar, and a rise in Treasury yields. Such reports are not true, Trump said. "I don't rule out anything, but I think it's highly unlikely unless he has to leave for fraud," Trump said, a reference to recent White House and Republican lawmaker criticism of cost overruns in the $2.5 billion renovation of the Fed's historic headquarters in Washington. Stocks pared losses and Treasury...
President Donald Trump told a room full of Republican lawmakers that he will fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, after receiving approval from them to make the move, a senior White House official told CNBC. Amid repeated denials from administration officials and high-ranking Republicans, the exchange came Tuesday evening in the Oval Office, following Republicans blocking a vote on cryptocurrency legislation that Trump has favored. "The President asked lawmakers how they felt about firing the Fed Chair. They expressed approval for firing him. The President indicated he likely will...
The Producer Price Index (PPI) for final demand in the US rose 2.3% annually in June, according to data published by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics on Wednesday. This followed a 2.6% increase in May and was below market expectations of 2.5%. The annual core PPI rose 2.6% in the same period, down from 3% in May. On a monthly basis, both the PPI and core PPI were unchanged. (alg) Source: FXstreet
Indonesia's president said his US counterpart, Donald Trump, is a "tough negotiator" after the two countries reached a trade deal that resulted in a reduction in proposed tariffs to 19% from 32%. The deal is one of a handful reached so far by the Trump administration ahead of the August 1 negotiation deadline, but Indonesia, Southeast Asia's largest economy and a member of the G20, has not provided further details. Trump said Indonesia has committed to buying 50 Boeing (BA.N) aircraft, opening up new jets, $15 billion worth of U.S. energy supplies, and $4.5 billion worth of U.S....
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....