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...
China's Commerce Ministry said early Wednesday that US measures on China's advanced chips are ‘typical of unilateral bullying and protectionism.' Chinese authorities urged the US to immediately correct its erroneous practices. US measures on China's advanced chips are ‘typical of unilateral bullying and protectionism.' US chip measures seriously undermine the stability of the global semiconductor industry chain and supply chain. US abuses export controls to contain and suppress China, violating international law and basic norms. Suspects that US measures constitute discriminatory,...
President Donald Trump outlined plans for a new defense system dubbed "Golden Dome," highlighting advanced technology, international interest and a projected cost of $175 billion. Key Quotes Made announcement about the Golden Dome defense shield. Selected architecture for the Golden Dome. Will include space-based interceptors. Canada says it wants to be part of it. Gold Dome should be operational by the end of my term. We're helping Israel with their system. Our technology is more advanced than Israel's. Bill in Congress to include $25 billion for the Golden Dome. Talks...
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Beth Hammack noted during an interview with Axios that the evolving policies of the U.S. government continue to make it increasingly difficult for policymakers to manage the economy. If not addressed, Hammack sees a stagflation scenario, in which low growth is accompanied by high inflation, as increasing. Key highlights Extraordinary uncertainty is weighing on economic activity. Upcoming policies could offset the effects of trade policy. Hammack sees a stagflation outcome as a likely scenario. I don't want to overreact to trade. White House...
The wave of new U.S. tariffs has severely dampened the mood among exporters and 42% of companies now expect their export revenues to decline markedly, according to a global survey by Allianz Trade published on Tuesday. The credit insurer surveyed 4,500 exporters in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, Britain, the United States, Singapore and China about global trade in March and April, before and after the tariffs spiral on April 2. Before Donald Trump's 'Liberation Day', when the president announced new tariffs against almost all trading partners, only 5% of companies had expected...
Indonesia's government sees economic growth reaching at least 5.2% next year as it continues to focus on improving food production, energy security and people's wellbeing, its finance minister told parliament on Tuesday. Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said economic growth in 2026 would be between 5.2% and 5.8% next year with the bottom end of the range the same as 2025's growth target. "We will reach the target in 2026 by maintaining people's purchasing power... development of natural resources downstream industry and improving the investment climate, as well as human resources,"...
China cut benchmark lending rates for the first time since October on Tuesday, while major state banks lowered deposit rates as authorities work to ease monetary policy to help buffer the economy from the impact of the Sino-U.S. trade war. The widely expected rate cuts are aimed at stimulating consumption and loan growth as the world's No. 2 economy softens, while still protecting commercial lenders' shrinking profit margins. Still, the size of the rate reductions was mild and reflected the incremental pace of monetary easing in recent years and what analysts interpreted as some wariness...
Ministerial level trade talks between Japan and the U.S. are set to take place later this week– marking the third round of high-level talks between the nations, Japan's Kyodo News agency reported on Tuesday. Kyodo reported that Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's top trade negotiator and minister of economic revitalization, will fly to Washington by Friday to engage in a third round of high-level talks. Kyodo cited comments from a U.S. official. Separately, Akazawa said in a press conference on Tuesday that working level talks took place between Washington and Tokyo on Monday, and that high-level...
China on Monday accused the US of undermining the two countries' preliminary trade agreement after the US issued an industry warning against using Chinese chips that singled out Huawei, per CNBC. According to a spokesperson for China's Ministry of Commerce, the US Commerce Department's advice is "discriminatory" and "market distorting," prompting Beijing to "demand" that the administration "correct its mistakes." China Slams U.S. Huawei Chip Ban as Threat to Trade TruceChina Indicators China has strongly criticized a U.S. directive targeting certain high-end Huawei chips, saying it...
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....