Indonesia's sovereign wealth fund, Danantara, plans to sign a USD 8 billion engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract with US engineering firm KBR Inc. to build 17 modular refineries, according to two sources familiar with the matter and an official presentation by the Economic Ministry, as reported by Reuters. The contract is part of a trade pact reached last week between Indonesia and the US, which resulted in a reduction of proposed US tariffs, from 32% down to 19%. Indonesia's Economic Minister, Airlangga Hartarto, who served as chief negotiator for the deal, revealed...
Gold rose above $2,640 an ounce on Monday, boosted by its appeal as a safe haven amid renewed geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, as well as growing expectations of a U.S. interest rate cut. Rebel forces in Syria toppled President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday, ending the Assad family's 50-year rule and raising concerns about a new wave of instability in the region. Friday's U.S. jobs report also indicated that the labor market continued to ease gradually, allowing the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates later this month. The market is now pricing in an 83% chance of a 25bps cut at...
The EUR/USD pair is trading with a mild negative bias near 1.0550 on Monday during the Asian trading hours. Investors will be closely watching the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation report for November, due on Wednesday. On Thursday, the European Central Bank (ECB) interest rate decision will be in the spotlight. Investors will be looking for clues on what will happen next. Expectations for a quarter-point rate cut by the Federal Reserve (Fed) on December 18 increased last week after the employment report showed strong job creation, but not at a pace that would deter Fed officials from...
The Japanese Yen (JPY) kicks off the new week on a positive note and draws support from a combination of factors, though the upside potential seems limited. Government data released earlier today showed that Japan's economy expanded at a faster pace than initially estimated in the third quarter. Apart from this, geopolitical tensions and concerns about US President-elect Donald Trump's impending trade tariffs offer support to the safe-haven JPY. Meanwhile, the recent fall in the US Treasury bond yields contributes to the JPY's relative outperformance against its American counterpart and...
The AUD/USD pair strengthened around 0.6400 as the US Dollar (USD) weakened during the Asian session on Monday. There are no Federal Reserve (Fed) speakers this week as the media is closed. All eyes will be on the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) rate decision on Tuesday, with no rate changes expected. Data released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on Friday showed that US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) increased by 227,000 in November, compared to an upwardly revised 36,000 in October. This reading was better than the estimate of 200,000. Meanwhile, the Unemployment Rate rose to 4.2% in...
Gold prices rose on Monday after China's central bank added bullion to its reserves in November — ending a six-month hiatus in a buying binge that had provided a major pillar of support for the precious metal. Bullion prices rose as much as 0.6% to trade just below $2,650 an ounce, after the People's Bank of China said Saturday it bought 160,000 troy ounces last month. The addition was the first since April, before the central bank halted purchases for 18 months that had helped prop up prices amid strong interest from global public institutions. China led demand in the first quarter of...
China's official NBS Manufacturing PMI increased to 49.7 in June 2025 from May's 49.5, matching market expectations while marking the third consecutive month of contraction in factory activity.
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Both the STOXX 50 and STOXX 600 hovered around the flatline on Friday, as investors adopted a cautious stance ahead of further developments in trade talks between US President Trump and Chinese...
Indonesia's sovereign wealth fund, Danantara, plans to sign a USD 8 billion engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract with US engineering firm KBR Inc. to build 17 modular...