Asia / Pacific

Two delegates and a source with knowledge of OPEC+ meetings said that OPEC+ will likely leave oil production levels unchanged during its Sunday meeting and agree on a method to measure members' maximum capacity to produce. Two delegates stated that the eight OPEC+ nations who have gradually increased output in 2025 will keep their policy of halting hikes in the 1st quarter of 2026. OPEC+, a grouping of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, led by Russia and pumping about half the oil in the world, has been discussing production capacity figures for years, against...

Industry sources say that Pakistan's fuel oil exports reached a record high in this year. They are expected to continue to increase next year as domestic taxes discouraged purchases and power plants switch to cleaner alternatives. The increase in Pakistani fuel oil exports in Asia has increased the supply, further affecting prices on a market already oversupplied. Shipping data from Kpler & LSEG revealed that fuel oil exports to Pakistan hit a new high in 2018. Kpler data showed that exports have surpassed 1.4 million tons (8.9 million barrels) so far in this year, an increase of over 16% compared...

Tom Westbrook gives us a look at what the future holds for European and global markets. The dollar's weekly drop was the largest in four months, and traders were looking ahead to 2026 as markets slowed down for Thanksgiving in the U.S. The U.S. is looking to further ease interest rates, while the rest of world seems to be finishing off their rate cuts. South Korea is the latest country to adopt a hawkish stance, abandoning its easing bias. Bonds have fallen. Asahi Noguchi, a former Bank of Japan dove, also adopted a slightly hawkish tone in his speech to...

The growing bets on a rate cut in the U.S. lifted stocks for a 4th straight day, and Europe's stock markets experienced an incredible few hours when Britain's fiscal regulator accidentally published new forecasts that were crucial ahead of a brutal UK budget. The UK budget was released by Finance Minister Rachel Reeves and contained yet another round of tax increases. Early release The Office for Budget Responsibility’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook has already triggered a response. The sterling and gilt yields both rose as OBR figures showed a better than expected picture of the UK's fiscal room, but then...

The Asian stock market rose on Wednesday as it followed Wall Street's gains, with weaker than expected economic data fueling expectations that the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates during its next policy meeting. MSCI's broadest Asia-Pacific share index outside Japan rose by 1.1% after U.S. shares ended the previous session mildly up. Japan's Nikkei index gained 1.9% while U.S. futures rose 0.3%. U.S. stock prices recovered lost ground following a recent sell-off. The S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite and Dow Jones all rose for the third day in a row on Tuesday as data revealed that retail sales were lower...

Gregor Stuart Hunter gives us a look at what the markets will be like in Europe and around the world. It is make-or-break for Britain's Finance Minister Rachel Reeves, who will unveil her budget later today. The budget could contain tens or hundreds of millions of pounds worth of new taxes. In Asian trading, the pound is up 0.2% to $1.3193, a rise of a fifth day in a row ahead of her speech at 1230 GMT. Sources say that after the meeting between the new Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takayichi and BOJ governor Kazuo Ueda last week, the Bank...

The Asian stock market rose on Wednesday as it followed Wall Street's gains. Weaker-than-expected data on the economy fueled expectations that Federal Reserve would cut interest rates during its next policy meeting. MSCI's broadest Asia-Pacific share index outside Japan rose 1% after U.S. shares ended the previous session mildly up. Japan's Nikkei index gained 1.8% while U.S. futures stocks edged up by 0.2%. U.S. stock prices recovered lost ground following a selloff at the beginning of the month. The S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq Composite Index rose for the third day in a row on Tuesday, after data revealed...

The global stock market rose on Tuesday, and was on track for a third consecutive session of gains. Investors remained confident that the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut interest rates during its December meeting. Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury Yields fell. Alphabet and Meta Platforms led the gains on Wall Street. Google's parent company hit an intraday high of $328.83, and was up over 1% last as it approached $4 trillion market capitalization. This would make it the only fourth company to achieve this mark. The Information reported on Meta Platforms, which rose 3% and was the largest boost to the S&P...

Three OPEC+ source said that OPEC+ will likely leave the output levels unchanged during its meeting on Sunday, but focus on a hypothetical topic about how much oil each member can produce to decide on future policies. OPEC+ includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, such as Russia. It pumps around half of the world's crude oil. For years, OPEC+ has discussed production capacity figures – or baselines – against which member's output targets are determined. OPEC+ said that ministers will discuss on Sunday a method to determine the maximum production capacity of countries, which...

China could help ease the tight diesel market in Asia in December by increasing exports to compensate for reduced shipments from Indian refiners due to sanctions on Russian crude oil. According to trading sources the exports of China's diesel could reach 4.5 million barrels by December as refiners make use of high margins to produce this transport fuel. If the December loading cargoes rise to the level expected, this would be the best month since August. It is also a big jump from the forecast of commodity analysts Kpler that November exports will total 2.76 million barrels. China has the...

Investors piled into technology stocks on Tuesday, despite concerns that the sector was overheating. Alphabet, the parent company of Google, is on the verge of reaching a valuation of $4 trillion, making it the only fourth company in the world to do so. This shows that investors are confident the AI-fueled tech boom will continue. MSCI's All-World Index rose for the third consecutive day, lifting it off its two-month-lows from last week. Shares in Europe increased by 0.2%, and U.S. index futures were nearing positive territory. Bets on RISING RATE Cuts The yield on 10-year Treasury bills was unchanged at...

India's Russian crude oil imports will be at their lowest level in three years by December. They were already higher than they had been for several months in November as refiners sought alternatives to avoid violating Western sanctions. The United States, Britain and the European Union have all tightened sanctions against Moscow in response to the conflict in Ukraine. Washington's most recent measures target top Russian oil producers Rosneft, and Lukoil. The deadline for buyers of Russian oil to end their dealings with these two companies was November 21. Separately the EU set a deadline of 21 January after which...

Gold prices fell on Thursday after hitting a two-week high in the previous session. Investors also assessed the probability of a U.S. rate cut in December. As of 1601 GMT, spot gold was down by 0.2%, at $4,157.29 an ounce. U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery fell 0.2% to $4154.30 an ounce. Carsten Menke, analyst at Julius Baer, said: "We expect that the consolidation process that began with the October setback will continue because the dust from that setback is still not completely settled." Bullion is down 5% from its record high of $4381.21 reached on October 20. However, it...

Gold prices fell on Thursday after hitting a two-week high in the previous session. Investors also assessed the probability of a U.S. rate cut in December. As of 1423 GMT, spot gold was down by 0.1% to $4,159.31 an ounce. U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery fell 0.3% to $4156.30 an ounce. Carsten Menke, analyst at Julius Baer, said: "We expect that the consolidation process that began with the October setback will continue because the dust from that setback is still not completely settled." Bullion is down 5% from its record high of $4381.21 reached on October 20. However, it...

The spot platinum price rose on Thursday, as the opening of futures trading at the Guangzhou Stock Exchange in China helped to increase the overall liquidity. These contracts represent the first domestic price-hedging mechanisms for platinum and palladium, which are used in automakers and other industries including jewellery and investment goods. On their first trading day, Guangzhou's June platinum futures jumped 6% while palladium rose 1.5%. After hitting a one-month high of $1,641, spot platinum prices in London rose 1.0% to $1,604 per troy inch by 1226 GMT. Palladium spot prices were unchanged at $1,423. China is the largest consumer...

Gold prices fell on Thursday after hitting a two-week high in the previous session. Investors also assessed the probability of a U.S. rate cut in December. As of 1216 GMT, spot gold was down by 0.2% to $4,156.89 an ounce. U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery fell 0.2% to $4154.40 an ounce. Carsten Menke, analyst at Julius Baer, said: "We expect that the consolidation process that began with the October setback will continue because the dust from that setback is still not completely settled." Bullion is down 5% from its record high of $4381.21 reached on October 20. However, it...

The copper prices were under pressure Thursday due to a stronger dollar, and poor data from China's top metals consumer. They had hit their highest level in nearly a month the previous session. The benchmark three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange fell 0.7% to $10,893.50 per metric tonne by 1121 GMT. On Wednesday, the metal reached $11,025 - its highest level since October 30 - on expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve would cut interest rates by December. The metal reached a record-high of $11,200 due to disruptions in mine supply on October 29. The metals market focused...

Plans to build a series of new smelters have been shelved The industry still expects to gain new capacity through projects in construction The move is seen as a sign of more to come Amy Lv. Lewis Jackson, and Dylan Duan Industry insiders say that the decision by China to shelve plans for a number of copper smelters will not have a significant impact on historically tight copper markets, unless more measures are taken to reduce output. Due to the disruptions in mines, supplies of copper concentrate have been stretched and increased. The fees paid for processing copper (also known...

Gold prices fell on Thursday after hitting a two-week high in the previous session. Investors also assessed the probability of a U.S. rate cut in December. As of 1052 GMT, spot gold was down by 0.2% to $4,154.27 an ounce. U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery fell 0.4% to $4150.40 an ounce. Carsten Menke, analyst at Julius Baer, said: "We expect that the consolidation process that began with the October setback will continue because the dust from that setback is still not completely settled." Bullion is down 5% from its record high of $4381.21 reached on October 20. However, it...

The gold price was stable on Thursday. It held near its two-week high, as investors assessed the probability of a U.S. rate cut in December. As of 857 GMT, spot gold was unchanged at $4,165.24 an ounce. U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery fell 0.1% to $4162.20 an ounce. Carsten Menke, analyst at Julius Baer, said: "We expect that the consolidation process that began with the October setback will continue because the dust from that setback is still not completely settled." Bullion is down 5% from its record high of $4381.21 reached on October 20. However, it has traded above...

Shanghai copper gained for the fourth consecutive session on Thursday as renewed hopes of a December rate cut by U.S. Federal Reserve boosted sentiment. After hitting the highest price since November 14, 87,300 Yuan, the most traded copper contract at the Shanghai Futures Exchange, closed the day's trading up by 0.35%, to 86990 yuan per metric ton. As of 0753 GMT, the benchmark three-month price for copper fell 0.44%, to $10,927 per ton. The London copper price eased after it broke through $11,000 per ton on the previous Wednesday. It reached $11,025, its highest level since October 30. ING analysts...

On Thursday, gold fell on profit-taking following a two-week-high in the previous session. Investors also weighed the likelihood of a U.S. rate cut for December amid contradictory signals from the Federal Reserve. As of 0616 GMT, spot gold was down 0.3% at $4,153.49 an ounce. U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery fell 0.5% to $415.50 per ounce. After Wednesday's rise )... Gold is consolidating because the Fed hasn't decided what it's going to do. Investors seeking to protect themselves from increased policy uncertainty have accelerated the hedging flow into derivatives linked to overnight rates. Some Fed officials led by New...

Shanghai copper continued its gains for the fourth consecutive session on Thursday as renewed hopes of a December rate cut by U.S. Federal Reserve boosted sentiment. As of 0330 GMT the most traded copper contract at the Shanghai Futures Exchange had risen 0.27% to 86,920 Yuan ($12,277.70), after reaching 87,300 Yuan earlier in the session, which was the highest since November 14 The benchmark copper for three months fell 0.44%, to $10 927 per ton. The London copper price eased after it broke through $11,000 per ton on the previous Wednesday. It reached $11,025, its highest level since October 30....

Iron ore futures were unable to find direction on Thursday, as falling China lump-ore premiums indicated weak demand for steelmaking materials and offset support from a soft dollar. By 0317 GMT, the most-traded contract for January iron ore on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange climbed 0.13% to 797 Yuan ($112.57) per metric ton. The benchmark December Iron Ore at the Singapore Exchange fell 0.04% to $106.5 per ton. According to Chinese consultancy Mysteel, China's seaborne Iron Ore Lump Premiums against 62% Fe Fines have fallen 42.2% since two months ago and reached their lowest level in late May 2024. Mysteel stated...