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...
President Donald Trump's global tariffs have been deemed illegal and blocked by a US trade court, dealing a major blow to a pillar of the Republican Party's economic agenda. The ruling can now be appealed by the Trump administration in federal court. A three-judge panel at the US Court of International Trade in Manhattan ruled Wednesday in favor of Democratic-led states and a group of small businesses that argued Trump had wrongly invoked emergency law to justify the levies. The ruling is one of Trump's biggest setbacks in court amid a wave of lawsuits over executive orders that have...
US President Donald Trump said he warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against a military strike against Iran that could disrupt efforts to broker a deal on Tehran's nuclear program. "I told him this would be inappropriate to do right now, because we're very close to a solution," Trump told reporters Wednesday. "Now that could change at any moment — could change with a phone call, but right now, I think they want to make a deal." The US president added that he believed a deal with Iran could be completed within "the next couple of weeks" and that talks had...
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates Deep in the oil-rich deserts of the Middle East, the United Arab Emirates is on a mission to establish supremacy in the field of artificial intelligence. Seven thousand miles across the planet, the United States, led by President Donald Trump, wants American firms to dominate the global AI race. While their goals may be separated by continents, their ambitions are strikingly aligned. The U.S. currently makes the world's most advanced semiconductor chips, while the UAE and neighboring Gulf countries have the abundant, cheap energy needed to power enormous AI...
Euro zone consumers raised their inflation expectations in April but kept a steady view on price growth further out, highlighting elevated uncertainty amid a global trade war, the ECB's Consumer Expectations Survey showed on Wednesday. Households see inflation at 3.1% over the next year, above the 2.9% predicted a month earlier and also well above the ECB's 2% own target. That reading, however, goes counter to the ECB's own projections that price growth was set to slow given weak economic growth, muted wage increases, lower energy costs and a stronger euro. This combination of muted price...
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that it would cost Canada $61 billion to be part of his proposed "Golden Dome" missile defense system, but that it would be free if the country became the 51st U.S. state. "I told Canada, which very much wants to be part of our fabulous Golden Dome System, that it will cost $61 Billion Dollars if they remain a separate, but unequal, Nation, but will cost ZERO DOLLARS if they become our cherished 51st State," Trump said in a post on Truth.social, claiming that Canada was "considering the offer." Trump's comment comes after Canadian Prime Minister...
New York Federal Reserve President John Williams said on Wednesday central banks must "respond relatively strongly" when inflation begins to deviate from their target. Given high uncertainty around the economic impact of U.S. tariffs and trade policy, central banks should focus on avoiding taking steps where the "cost of getting it wrong far outweighs the benefits," rather than aiming for the perfect solution to the problem, he said. Among the costly risks central banks must avoid are to allow inflation expectations to deviate from their targets, Williams said in a fireside chat with BOJ...
The US dollar (USD) regained some ground and managed to shake off two consecutive daily retracements on Tuesday (5/27), as US investors returned to their desks after the Memorial Day holiday on Monday. Meanwhile, traders focused on the trade front as well as the Senate debate on Trump's sweeping tax bill. Here's what to watch for Wednesday, May 28: The US Dollar Index (DXY) bounced off a multi-week trough on Tuesday, rising to a two-day high near 99.60 amid a decline in US yields across the curve. The release of the FOMC Minutes from the May 7 meeting will be the key event, followed by the...
"I am very pleased with the 50% tariff allocation on the European Union, especially since they have been slow (to put it mildly!), in our negotiations with them," US President Donald Trump said in a post published on Truth Social on Tuesday. "I was just informed that the EU has asked for an immediate date for a meeting. This is a positive event, and I hope that they will finally, as I have asked China, open up European Countries to Trade with the United States," Trump added. The comments failed to spark a noticeable reaction in the US Dollar (USD). At the time of writing, the USD Index was...
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....