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...
During a public meeting with Ireland's Prime Minister, or Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, United States (US) President Donald Trump took the opportunity to deliver another hodge-podge of comments addressing his usual variety of topics that White House watchers have become increasingly familiar with. Without sharing any specific details, President Trump declared that the EU has been "tough" on the US in terms of trade, noting that Europeans tend to not buy very many US-produced food products or vehicles. Given the enormous costs of shipping both durable and non-durable goods between two...
Inflation in the United States (US), as measured by the change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), declined to 2.8% on a yearly basis in February from 3% in January, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported on Wednesday. This reading came in below the market expectation of 2.9%. On a monthly basis, the CPI rose 0.2% following the 0.5% increase recorded in January. The core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose 3.1% on a yearly basis. This print followed the 3.3% increase in January and came in below analysts' estimate of 3.2%. On a monthly basis, the core CPI rose...
Canada will announce C$29.8 billion in retaliatory tariffs on the United States on Wednesday in response to US President Donald Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs, a Canadian official said. The official declined to be identified. Trump's increased tariffs on steel and aluminum imports take effect on Wednesday as previous exemptions, duty-free quotas and product exclusions expire, and as his campaign to reshape global trade norms in favor of the US gains momentum. Canada is the largest foreign supplier of steel and aluminum to the United States. The escalation in the US-Canada trade war...
Many of Japan's biggest companies are expected to offer substantial wage hikes for a third consecutive year when they conclude talks with unions on Wednesday, seeking to help workers cope with inflation and retain staff amid labour shortages. Last year's "shunto" or "spring labour offensive" negotiations resulted in the sharpest increase in 33 years, enabling the central bank to exit its decade-long super-loose monetary policy. Record corporate profits, helped by a weak yen, also support the case for lifting pay and this year economists expect increases to be similar to last year's average...
U.S. job openings increased in January, but demand for labor is likely to soften in the months ahead amid concerns that uncertainty over import tariffs and aggressive government spending cuts could cause a sharp slowdown in economic activity. For now, the labor market is holding steady, with the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS report, from the Labor Department on Tuesday showing layoffs declining for a fourth straight month to the lowest level since last June. There were 1.13 job openings for every unemployed person, up from 1.09 in December. Hiring, however, remained...
President Donald Trump on Tuesday doubled his planned tariffs on all steel and aluminum products entering the United States from Canada, bringing the total to 50%, in response to the province of Ontario imposing, opens new tab 25% tariffs on electricity entering the U.S. Trump said in a post on Truth Social that he had instructed his commerce secretary to add an additional 25% tariff on the products that would take effect Wednesday morning. "Also, Canada must immediately reduce the Anti-American Farmer Tariffs of 250% to 390% on various U.S. dairy products, which have long been considered...
US job openings rose in January, indicating steady demand for workers as the Trump administration takes office. Available job openings rose to 7.74 million from a revised 7.51 million in December, according to monthly data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released Tuesday. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists was for 7.6 million openings. (Newsmaker23) Source: Bloomberg
The U.S. economy is set for weaker growth and higher inflation as the tariff impact is likely to be greater than previously feared, economists at Goldman Sachs said in a recent. "Larger tariffs are also likely to hit GDP harder. We have reduced our 2025 Q4/Q4 GDP growth forecast to 1.7%, from 2.2% previously," Goldman Sachs economists said. Goldman Sachs updated its economic forecasts to reflect a new assumption of larger tariffs that raise the effective tariff rate by 10%, compared with a prior assumption of 4.3% . The White House raised tariffs on China, Canada, and Mexico but then...
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....