Oil prices rose slightly on Thursday (December 18th) as investors assessed the possibility of further US sanctions on Russia and the supply risks posed by the blockade of Venezuelan oil tankers. Brent crude rose 32 cents, or 0.54%, to $60 a barrel at 0910 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 38 cents, or 0.68%, to $56.32 a barrel. The US intention to impose more sanctions on Russia and the threat of a blockade of sanctioned tankers carrying Venezuelan oil pushed prices higher, said PVM analyst John Evans. On Wednesday, Bloomberg reported that the US was preparing another round of...
Initial jobless claims in the United States rose by 4,000 from the previous week to 223,000 on the first week of April, in line with market expectations, to remain at the historically low levels that were steadily shown since March. In the meantime, continuing claims fell by 43,000 from downwardly revised levels to 1,850,000 in the last week of March, well below market expectations of 1,880,000, to reflect slight traction in individuals finding suitable employment after a period of joblessness. In the meantime, unemployment claims filed under programs for Federal government employees, which...
The United States (US) Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is set to publish the high-impact Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation report for March on Thursday at 12:30 GMT. The CPI figures could notably impact the US Dollar (USD) and the Federal Reserve's (Fed) monetary policy outlook. What to expect in the next CPI data report?As measured by the CPI, inflation in the US is set to rise at an annual pace of 2.6% in March, down slightly from the 2.8% reported in February. Core CPI inflation, which excludes the volatile food and energy categories, is expected to ease to 3% in the same period...
Federal Reserve officials flagged the risk of more sustained inflationary pressures from tariffs when they agreed to keep interest rates steady at their meeting last month. "A majority of participants noted the potential for inflationary impacts arising from a variety of factors to be more sustained than they had projected," said the minutes of the March 18-19 policy meeting, released Wednesday. Since that meeting, President Trump has imposed broad and abrupt tariff increases that initially exceeded the high end estimates of most private-sector economists and Fed officials. Trump said...
Many companies had been steadily reducing their reliance on China as a manufacturing hub since President Donald Trump's first term, hoping to blunt the impact of punitive levies from the United States. Then his latest "reciprocal" tariffs came along. Trump's move to impose tariffs on goods on a broader swathe of countries is now putting those diversification plans in disarray and leaving companies scrambling to decide where and how their goods are produced. Steve Greenspon, CEO of Illinois-based houseware company Honey-Can-Do International, started moving more of his production from China...
The Indonesian rupiah touched an all-time low of around 16,950 per USD in April as the U.S. readied 104% tariffs on Chinese goods, escalating tensions between the world's two largest economies. Meanwhile, Indonesia faces a 32% tariff from the U.S. President Prabowo Subianto has instructed his cabinet to simplify trade rules and ease non-tariff barriers while assessing the impact on key exports such as textiles, electronics, footwear, and palm oil. Adding to the pressure, Indonesia's current account remained in deficit for the seventh quarter in Q4 of 2024, underscoring structural trade...
Markets may still be underestimating the risk of a full-blown U.S. recession following the sharp escalation in tariffs on Chinese goods, Goldman Sachs analyst said in a note. In the wake of the tariff announcement, U.S. markets experienced one of the largest two-day growth downgrades in decades, with implied GDP growth expectations dropping by 130 basis points—on par with shocks seen during COVID, the global financial crisis, and Black Monday in 1987, analysts said. Despite the massive selloff on Wall Street on April 3 and April 4, Goldman Sachs noted that markets have yet to fully price...
The United States said Tuesday that 104% tariffs on Chinese imports would go into effect shortly after midnight, even as the Trump administration moved quickly to begin talks with other trading partners targeted by President Donald Trump's sweeping tariff plans. U.S. stocks slumped on the news. Global markets had earlier posted gains on hopes that Trump might be willing to negotiate a series of country- and product-specific trade barriers he has built around the world's largest consumer market. The administration has scheduled talks with South Korea and Japan, two close allies and major...
Indonesia's consumer prices rose by 1.03% yoy in March 2025, below forecasts of a 1.16% gain, after a 0.09% drop in February. It was the highest inflation since last December as the electricity tariff returned to normal after discounting for the first two months of 2025 and rising consumption amid the Eid al-Fitr festive season. Core inflation, excluding administered and volatile food prices, stood at a 20-month high of 2.48%, slightly surpassing forecasts of a 2.50% rise. Monthly, the CPI increased by 1.65%, the most since December 2014, reversing a 0.48% fall in February, compared to...
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....