The White House update to its tariff schedule is a "welcome development" after challenges caused by a recent U.S. Customs ruling on gold bars, the London Bullion Market Association said on Wednesday. The executive order, issued on September 5 by President Donald Trump, updates the tariff schedule for certain goods, including key gold products. The White House referred to them as reciprocal tariffs. Under the update, gold bars imported from "aligned partner" countries under certain codes of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States - including 7108.11.00, 7108.12.50, 7108.13.10,...
Australia's private sector credit rose 0.7% month-on-month in July 2025, after two consecutive 0.6% gains and marking the fastest increase since April. The latest figure beat market expectations of 0.6%, driven by a sharp pickup in business credit (1.4% vs 0.5% in June). Meanwhile, housing credit growth held steady (at 0.5%), while personal credit notably eased (0.4% vs 0.8%). Year-on-year, private credit expanded 7.2%, up from 6.9% in the previous two months and the strongest pace since February 2023. Source : Trading Economics
Tensions between the United States and Venezuela are rising amid a large U.S. naval buildup in the Southern Caribbean and nearby waters, which U.S. officials say aims to address threats from Latin American drug cartels. U.S. President Donald Trump has made cracking down on drug cartels a central goal of his administration, part of a wider effort to limit migration and secure the U.S. southern border. While U.S. Coast Guard and Navy ships regularly operate in the Southern Caribbean, this buildup is significantly larger than usual deployments in the region. A U.S. official, speaking on the...
The European Commission proposed on Thursday removing duties on imported U.S. industrial goods in return for reduced U.S. tariffs on European cars, a key part of the trade agreement the EU and the United States struck last month. The proposals mark the EU's first step in enacting the framework agreement between U.S. President Donald Trump and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on July 27, which saw the EU accept a broad 15% tariff to avoid a damaging trade war. The United States agreed to reduce its tariffs on cars built in the European Union to 15% from 27.5% from the first day of...
Pending home sales in the United States fell by 0.4% from the previous month in July of 2025, extending the 0.8% drop in the previous month to mark the first back-to-back contraction since January. Pending home sales were lower in the Northeast (-0.6%), the Midwest (-4.0%), and the South (-0.1%), which offset the 3.7% jump in the West. According to NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun, "Even with modest improvements in mortgage rates, housing affordability, and inventory, buyers still remain hesitant. Buying a home is often the most expensive purchase people will make in their lives. This...
According to a report from the US Department of Labor (DOL) released on Thursday, the number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment insurance fell to 229,000 for the week ending August 23. The latest figure was slightly lower than the initial estimate (230,000) and lower than the previous week's 234,000 (revised from 235,000). Furthermore, the 4-week moving average increased by 2.5,000, bringing the total to 228,500 from the previous week's revised average. The report showed a seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate of 1.3%, with Continuing Jobless Claims decreasing by...
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...
Poland shot down a drone in its airspace on Wednesday with the support of military aircraft from its NATO allies. This is the first time a member of the Western military alliance is known to have...