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...
The Federal Reserve will still be able to cut interest rates this year, with recent data supporting this outlook, Fed Governor Christopher Waller said on Monday. Speaking at a conference in South Korea, Waller said that a rise in inflation from President Donald Trump's trade tariffs was unlikely to be persistent, giving the Fed more confidence to lower rates later this year. If "underlying inflation continues to make progress to our 2% goal," along with tariffs settling at lower rates and employment remaining "solid," "I would be supporting good news rate cuts later this year," Waller...
President Donald Trump said that US tariffs on steel and aluminum imports will double from 25% to 50%, starting Wednesday. At a Pittsburgh rally Friday, he argued the move would strengthen the US steel industry, reduce reliance on China, and protect jobs. He also touted a $14 billion steel investment with Japan's Nippon Steel, though he later admitted he hadn't reviewed the final deal. "There will be no layoffs and no outsourcing whatsoever, and every US steelworker will soon receive a well-deserved $5,000 bonus," Trump told the crowd. Steelworkers raised concerns about how Japan would...
U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday accused China of breaking a recent trade agreement, only a few weeks after the two nations announced a temporary truce aimed at de-escalating tensions. In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote: "China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US." He added: "So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!" Trump said the deal had been struck to prevent further economic deterioration in China after his administration's tariffs took effect. "We went, in effect, COLD TURKEY with China, and it was devastating for them," he said in...
The core PCE price index in the US, which excludes volatile and energy prices and is Federal Reserve's chosen gauge of underlying inflation in the US economy, went up 0.1% from the previous month in April of 2025. The result was in line with market expectations. From the previous year, the index rose by 2.5% to slow from the 2.7% jump from March, the softest increase since March of 2021. Source: Trading Economics
A federal judge needs more time to consider a motion filed by both sides of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to suspend President Donald Trump's far-reaching tariffs, according to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The decision to lift the unlawful tariffs has been put on hold pending federal circuit review The U.S. appellate circuit has intervened following a ruling by the USCIT that the Trump administration misused the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose global tariffs that exceeded legal limits. The IEEPA was intended to allow...
President Donald Trump's desire to impose new tariffs remains undeterred, even after the courts delivered the most devastating blow to his top job yet. White House officials quickly signaled Thursday that Trump would pursue many of the same levies through other legal authorities if the appeal fails. Meanwhile, the administration is aggressively pushing to overturn the decision, saying it would go to the U.S. Supreme Court as early as Friday if a federal appeals court does not stop the initial ruling from taking effect while the challenge continues. The ruling was "clearly wrong" and "we...
Initial jobless claims in the United States jumped by 14,000 from the previous week to 240,000 on the period ending May 10th, the highest in one month, and above market expectations of 230,000. Additionally, outstanding claims rose by 26,000 to 1,919,000 in the earlier period, well above market expectations that they would ease to 1,890,000, to the highest level since November 2021. Source: Trading Economics
A U.S. trade court blocked President Donald Trump's tariffs from going into effect in a sweeping ruling on Wednesday that found the president overstepped his authority by imposing across-the-board duties on imports from U.S. trading partners. The Court of International Trade said the U.S. Constitution gives Congress exclusive authority to regulate commerce with other countries that is not overridden by the president's emergency powers to safeguard the U.S. economy. "The court does not pass upon the wisdom or likely effectiveness of the President's use of tariffs as leverage," a three-judge...
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....