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 monthly Consumer Price Index in Australia increased by 2.5% yoy in January 2025, unchanged from the previous month but below market estimates of a 2.6% rise. Still, the latest result was the highest reading in four months, with food prices rising the most in three months (3.3% vs 2.7%). Also, prices rose faster for tobacco (6.4% vs 5.8%), clothing (2.1% vs 1.3%), and housing (2.1% vs 1.5%). Excluding volatile items and travel, the CPI rose by 2.9%, the most in five months, accelerating from a 2.7% gain in the previous month. Source: Trading Economics
US President Donald Trump signed another Executive Order on Tuesday evening (2/25), signaling the US Commerce Department to launch a formal "investigation" into the Copper market. President Trump, citing "national security concerns," ordered an investigation into the futures and delivery markets of Copper. US law provides an ambiguous backdoor for the president to issue Executive Orders that allow the White House to bypass normal congressional channels to start a trade war, and has been the basis for hundreds of Trump administration Executive Orders since Trump took office in...
Consumer confidence in the US took a hit in February, with the Consumer Confidence Index falling to 98.3 (from 105.3) according to the Conference Board. The index fell to its lowest level since June 2024. Consumers' views of current business and job market conditions deteriorated, with the Current Situation Index dropping 3.4 points to 136.5. Meanwhile, their near-term outlook for income, business, and employment weakened further, with the Expectations Index dropping 9.3 points to 72.9. Stephanie Guichard, Senior Economist, Global Indicators at The Conference Board, explained that in...
US President Donald Trump was on the news on Monday (24/2), commenting on the ongoing Ukraine-Russia peace situation. With Russia now more than a thousand days into a three-day military operation intended to bring the country back under Russian control, the US President, who has been allied with Russia's Vladimir Putin for years, is trying to isolate Ukraine from NATO and get Ukraine to sign up to a half-trillion-dollar deal. This follows accusations from President Trump that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was ultimately responsible for Russia's invasion of Ukraine in the first...
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) recovered on Monday (2/25), rising about 300 points and turning around its peak in an attempt to recoup some of last week's losses triggered by an unexpected drop in consumer confidence figures. The market started the new trading week with a bullish bias, but gains remained limited as tensions persisted on the upside and investors remained overall uneasy on multiple fronts. February consumer sentiment figures raised some concerns last week, and now investors will turn to key earnings numbers this week from consumer building suppliers Home Depot (HD)...
Russia's overheating economy is on the cusp of serious cooling, as huge fiscal stimulus, soaring interest rates, stubbornly high inflation and Western sanctions take their toll, but after three years of war, Washington may just have thrown Moscow a lifeline. U.S. President Donald Trump is pushing for a quick deal to end the war in Ukraine, alarming Washington's European allies by leaving them and Ukraine out of initial talks with Russia and blaming Ukraine for Russia's 2022 invasion, political gifts for Moscow that could also bring strong economic benefits. Washington's push comes as...
The US Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), a key indicator of economic performance in the manufacturing sector, has reported a higher than anticipated figure. The actual number came in at 51.6, exceeding both the forecasted and previous numbers. This figure was higher than the forecasted number of 51.3, indicating an increase in activity level of purchasing managers in the manufacturing sector. The PMI is a closely watched survey as purchasing managers often have early access to data about their company's performance, which can be a leading indicator of overall economic...
In a recent report, the Services PMI (Purchasing Managers' Index), a key indicator of economic health in the private sector, was recorded at 49.7. This figure, published monthly by Markit Economics, is significantly lower than the forecasted 53.0, indicating a potential slowdown in the economy. The PMI index is based on surveys of over 400 executives in private sector service companies, including sectors such as transport and communication, financial intermediaries, business and personal services, computing & IT, hotels and restaurants. An index level of 50 denotes no change since the...
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....