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...
Federal Reserve officials met on Tuesday armed with new economic data that could give more weight to their concerns that Trump administration policies, or at least the intense uncertainty around them, will slow growth in the coming months. Shortly before the start of the two-day policy meeting, the U.S. Commerce Department reported that U.S. retail sales fell 0.9% in May, exceeding the expected 0.7% decline in a Reuters poll of economists and marking the biggest drop in four months. The U.S. central bank itself then released a report showing a surprise contraction in industrial production...
Two oil tankers collided and caught fire on Tuesday near the Strait of Hormuz, where electronic interference has surged during conflict between Iran and Israel, but there were no injuries to crew or spillage reported. With Iran and Israel firing missiles at each other since Friday, interference has disrupted navigation systems near the vital sea route between Iran and Oman which handles about a fifth of the world's oil. The United Arab Emirates coast guard said it had evacuated 24 people from one of the ships, Adalynn, to Khor Fakkan port after the crash 24 nautical miles off its eastern...
Retail Sales in the United States (US) declined by 0.9% in May to $715.4 billion, the US Census Bureau announced on Tuesday. This reading followed the 1.5% decrease (revised from +0.1%) recorded in April and came in worse than the market expectation for a contraction of 0.7%. On a yearly basis, Retail Sales were up 3.3%, compared to 5% in April. "Total sales for the March 2025 through May 2025 period were up 4.5% from the same period a year ago," the press release read. "Retail trade sales were down 0.9% from April 2025, and up 3.0% from last year." Other data from the US showed that...
The Bank of Japan (BoJ) announced on Tuesday (6/17) that it would keep its short-term interest rate target unchanged at 0.4%-0.5% after concluding a two-day monetary policy review meeting. The decision had been widely expected. The Japanese central bank extended the pause in its interest rate hike cycle to a third straight meeting, after raising rates by 25 basis points (bps) in January.(alg) Source: FXstreet
The Bank of Japan (BoJ) is widely expected to leave short-term interest rates unchanged at 0.5% after its two-day June monetary policy review ends on Tuesday (6/17). With no quarterly economic projections due, all eyes will be on the BoJ's plan to taper its purchases of Japanese government bonds (JGBs) and hints on the timing of its next rate hike. The BoJ's policy announcement is likely to fuel volatility around the Japanese yen (JPY). What to expect from the BoJ's rate decision? The BoJ is set to extend the pause in its rate-hike cycle to a third straight month in June, keeping its...
US President Donald Trump called for the evacuation of Iran's capital, Tehran, on Monday, hours after urging the country's leaders to accept a deal to curb its nuclear program as Israel signaled that attacks would continue, according to Bloomberg "Iran should sign the 'deal' I asked them to sign," Trump wrote in a social media post from a Group of Seven leaders summit in Alberta, Canada. "What a disgrace, and a waste of human lives. Simply put, IRAN SHOULD NOT HAVE NUCLEAR WEAPONS. I've said it over and over again! Everyone should evacuate Tehran immediately!" (alg) Source: FXstreet
With just days to go until the Federal Reserve delivers its rate decision due Wednesday, expectations for the Fed to lean more dovish are gaining traction following a string of cooler inflation reports but Barclays is pushing back, warning it's much too early for a Fed pivot as tariff-induced inflation is just a matter of time. "Although May's inflation estimates were soft, we retain our view that it is just a matter of time until cost-push pressures from tariffs feed through to consumer prices," Barclays' analysts said, cautioning, "we do not expect the FOMC will take much signal" from the...
Iran called on U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday to force Israel to cease fire as the only way to end the four-day-old aerial war, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country was on the "path to victory". Israeli forces stepped up their bombardment of Iranian cities, while Iran proved capable of piercing Israeli air defences with one of its most successful volleys yet of retaliatory missile strikes. "If President Trump is genuine about diplomacy and interested in stopping this war, next steps are consequential," Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on...
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....