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...
EUR/USD moved higher and tried to stay above 1.0500 during European trading hours on Thursday. The major currency pair edged higher as investors tried to recover from the collapse of Michel Barnier's three-month-old government after it lost a no-confidence motion brought by a coalition of the right and left. The collapse of the French government has plunged the economy into a deeper crisis by limiting its ability to tame a growing fiscal deficit. Left and right-wing lawmakers backed the no-confidence motion against Barnier after claiming his government's budget was "flawed and detrimental"...
Silver (XAG/USD) prices moved lower to around $31.20, snapping a two-day winning streak during the early European session on Thursday. The Federal Reserve's (Fed) cautious stance on rate cuts weighed on the white metal. Federal Chairman Jerome Powell said on Wednesday that the strength of the US economy means the US central bank can afford to be "a little more cautious" about its decisions on interest rate moves. Joseph Brusuelas, chief economist at RSM US, noted that he does not expect further rate cuts after the December meeting until March 2025 at the earliest. Increasing bets of a less...
Gold price (XAU/USD) drifts lower during the Asian session on Thursday, albeit it remains confined in a familiar range held over the past week or so amid mixed fundamental cues. The overnight hawkish remarks by FOMC members, including Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell, reaffirmed expectations that the US central bank will take a cautious stance on cutting rates. This assists the US Treasury bond yields to rebound slightly from their lowest closing levels in more than a month and turns out to be a key factor undermining the non-yielding yellow metal. Apart from this, the prevalent...
The dollar index held steady around 106.3 on Thursday after experiencing increased volatility in the previous session as investors continued to assess the outlook for Federal Reserve monetary policy. On Wednesday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell indicated that the central bank was in no rush to cut interest rates, citing stronger-than-expected growth, a strong labor market and persistent inflation pressures. Meanwhile, data showed that U.S. service sector growth slowed more than anticipated in November. The probability of a 25 basis point rate cut in December increased to about 79%, up from 66.5%...
The Japanese Yen (JPY) edged higher against its US counterpart during the Asian session on Thursday, pulling away from a weekly low hit the previous day. Signs that underlying inflation in Japan is picking up continued to fuel expectations that the Bank of Japan (BOJ) will raise interest rates again in December. Moreover, persistent geopolitical risks, trade war fears and an overnight decline in US Treasury yields further benefitted the low-yielding JPY. That said, Wednesday's aggressive remarks by a number of influential FOMC members, including Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Jerome...
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.
It...
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...