Renewed tensions between the United States and Russia have resurfaced following an incident involving an oil tanker, sparking market concerns about potential disruptions to global energy supplies. Washington's move, associated with tightening oversight and enforcement of sanctions on Russian oil shipments, is viewed by Moscow as provocative and could worsen relations between the two countries. Russia views these actions as an attempt by the United States to suppress Russian energy exports and strengthen its dominance in the global oil market. Meanwhile, Washington argues that these measures...
Consumer confidence in the US continued to deteriorate in April, with the University of Michigan's (UoM) Consumer Sentiment Index dropping to 50.8 in the flash estimate from 57 in March. This reading came in worse than the market expectation of 54.5. The underlying details of the report showed that the Current Conditions Index fell to 56.5 from 63.8 in the same period, while the Consumers Expectations Index worsened to 47.2 from 52.6. The one-year inflation outlook component of the survey jumped to 6.7% from 5%, and the five-year inflation outlook edged higher to 4.4% from 4.1%. Source:...
Core producer prices in the United States, which exclude food and energy, declined by 0.1% from the previous month in March of 2025, contrasting sharply with market expectations of a 0.3% jump to reflect the first decline in eight months. From the previous year, core producer prices rose by 3.3%, the least in six months, from the 3.5% in February. Source: Trading Economics
The current US tariff rate will drag China's GDP growth lower by c.1.8ppt. Any further increases in tariffs are likely to have little impact on China's growth. Another CNY 1.5-2.0tn of fiscal support is needed, supported by moderately loose monetary policy, Standard Chartered's economists report. The perfect storm"Over the past week, the US and China have announced sweeping tariffs in multiple rounds of retaliation. As of now, China's tariff on US products has jumped to 142%, and the US' tariff on China has surged to 157%, according to our estimate. As bilateral tariffs are already...
Chinese President Xi Jinping will embark on a three-nation Southeast Asia tour next week in his first overseas trip this year to consolidate ties with some of China's closest neighbours as trade tensions with the United States escalate. Xi will visit Vietnam from April 14-15, and Malaysia and Cambodia from April 15-18, state-run Xinhua news agency reported on Friday. China, hit with 145% U.S. tariffs since President Donald Trump took office this year, is quickly moving to reinforce relations with other countries who also lie in the shadow of Washington's damaging trade levies. Some of the...
The annual core consumer price inflation rate in the United States, which excludes volatile items like food and energy, eased to 2.8% in March 2025, down from 3.1% in February and below the market expectation of 3%. This marked the lowest rate since March 2021, driven by slower price increases in shelter (4.0% vs. 4.2% in February), transportation services (3.1% vs. 6.0%), medical care commodities (1.0% vs. 2.3%), apparel (0.3% vs. 0.6%), and used cars and trucks (0.6% vs. 0.8%). On a monthly basis, core consumer prices rose by 0.1% in March, following a 0.2% increase in February and below...
Asian stock markets fell in unison on Thursday, following Wall Street's decline. A brief rally in tech stocks led by Nvidia quickly faded, prompting investors to turn away from riskier assets like...
European stock indices closed marginally lower on Wednesday as equities took a breather from their recent strong momentum, while investors continued to assess the outlook for the ECB's policy this...
The upcoming Supreme Court ruling on the legality of President Donald Trump's massive tariffs, which rocked markets in April, is one of the next major tests for US stocks and bonds.
Equity markets...