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...
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday (02/05), US nonfarm payrolls rose to 139K in April. This figure is up from the estimate of 138K. Meanwhile, Average Hourly Earnings m/m data increased by 0.4% and Unemployment Rate is not change at 4.2% Source: Newsmaker
Both the STOXX 50 and STOXX 600 hovered around the flatline on Friday, as investors adopted a cautious stance ahead of further developments in trade talks between US President Trump and Chinese President Xi. The two leaders had a call yesterday and agreed to resume trade negotiations, but the absence of concrete progress kept markets on edge. Meanwhile, traders were also awaiting the latest US jobs report. In Europe, the ECB cut interest rates as widely expected, but President Lagarde signaled that the rate-cutting cycle may have reached its end. On the data front, exports and industrial...
US President Donald Trump said he may need to let Ukraine and Russia "fight for a while" before brokering a peace deal and hinted he might be willing to impose new sanctions on the two countries if he decides the conflict is not going to end. "Sometimes you let them fight for a while," Trump said during a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Thursday. "You see it in hockey, you see it in sports, the referee lets them fight for a few seconds, lets them fight for a while before you pull them apart." Trump said he would be willing to punish both countries if he did not believe...
US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to resume trade talks, and the American leader said they resolved a dispute over rare earth exports that has been at the heart of tensions between the world's two largest economies. Trump acknowledged Thursday that trade relations with China had "gotten off track a little bit" but said now "we're in very good shape with China and a trade deal." He posted earlier on social media that "there should be no more questions about the complexity of the rare earths." "We're getting some points straight, mostly with the rare earth...
The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rose to 247,000 in the week ending June 1, 2025. The figure was higher than the 236K estimate and from the previous weekly revised figure of 239K, the Labor Department said on Thursday (6/5). Source : Newsmaker
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday that abandoning uranium enrichment was "100%" against the country's interests, rejecting a central U.S. demand in talks to resolve a decades-long dispute over Tehran's nuclear ambitions. The U.S. proposal for a new nuclear deal was presented to Iran on Saturday by Oman, which has mediated talks between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff. After five rounds of talks, several hard-to-bridge issues remain, including Iran's insistence on maintaining uranium enrichment...
Industry executives are warning that U.S. President Donald Trump's recent 50% tariffs on aluminum imports may be too much for consumers to swallow and could destroy demand. "We're concerned about the potential demand destruction" of the levies, especially at current levels, Derek Prichett, senior vice president of global metals at Novelis Inc., said at the 17th Harbor Aluminum summit in Chicago. "Overall, it's a drag," Prichett said, adding that his company's Canadian-U.S. operations have been particularly affected by the tariffs. The Atlanta, Georgia-based company is the largest maker of...
President Donald Trump said Russian leader Vladimir Putin warned him that he would retaliate for a recent Ukrainian drone strike on a Russian airfield in a phone call Wednesday, signaling further complications in U.S. efforts to broker a cease-fire. "It was a good conversation, but not one that will lead to immediate Peace," Trump said of the call, which lasted more than an hour, in a social media post. "President Putin said, and very emphatically, that he must respond to the recent attack on the airfield." Trump said the pair also discussed ongoing nuclear talks with Iran and that the...
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....