Australia

The U.S. Dollar was under pressure Thursday, as traders bet that the Federal Reserve would resume lowering interest rates in January. Bitcoin reached a new record high while regional stocks saw a pause from their explosive rally. MSCI's index of Asian stocks excluding Japan remained near its highest level since September 2021. It took cues from Wall Street where the S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq Index hit new closing highs on the second consecutive day. On Wednesday, the MSCI All Country World Index reached a new record for the second consecutive session. Japan's Nikkei index fell following a six-day rally...

The U.S. Dollar was weaker on Wednesday as data revealed both the resilience of major economies and the necessity for central banks remain accommodative. Wall Street reached new heights Tuesday due to the increasing certainty that the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates in a month. Japan's Nikkei surpassed the 43,000 mark for the first and cryptocurrency ether reached a four-year high. Euro Stoxx futures for the entire region rose by 0.5%. German DAX futures also rose by 0.5%. FTSE futures climbed by 0.2%. U.S. Stock Futures, S&P 500 eminis were flat. The much-anticipated U.S. Inflation readings showed that President...

The global equities market rose on Friday, as investors held on to the belief that U.S. rates could fall even further this year. European shares posted their largest weekly gain in twelve weeks due to a strong performance by banking stocks. U.S. Gold Futures reached a record-high due to uncertainty about whether U.S. Import Tariffs will apply to the most common sizes of gold bars. Investors were looking for signs of an upcoming ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine after hearing that the United States was working with Russia to end the conflict in Ukraine. The expectation of a possible truce...

Global shares rose Friday, as investors held on to the belief that U.S. rates could fall even further this year. U.S. Gold futures also hit a new record high due to uncertainty about whether U.S. import duties would be applied to the most common sizes of gold bar. Reportage The news that the U.S. is planning a truce with Russia sent global benchmark oil prices to a new session low of $1 per barrel. The economic outlook was impacted by tariffs, which added pressure to crude. Dollar was headed for a loss of 1% per week after U.S. president Donald...

The dollar and global shares both rose on Friday as investors held on to the belief that U.S. interest rates could fall even further this year. Gold futures also rallied following reports of tariffs on U.S. imports, which are mainly made up of Swiss bullion bars. The world stock index traded at record highs on Friday, despite overnight weakness on Wall Street. In Europe, the shares were boosted by a series of strong earnings and optimism about the negotiation of U.S. tariffs. A series of changes in leadership at the Federal Reserve have further cast doubt on the outlook for...

Investors raised their bets that the Federal Reserve will act to support the world's biggest economy. Global stocks rose for the second session of the day on Tuesday. U.S. stocks rallied Monday, boosted by generally positive earnings reports. Bets on a Fed rate cut in September increased after Friday's disappointing jobs report. The oil prices fell after OPEC+ increased their output, and gold was hovering near a week-high. Rodrigo Catril is a senior currency strategist with National Australia Bank. He said that there are signs of weakness within the U.S. The STOXX 600 index rose 0.4% to start the day...

The U.S. Dollar steadied on Tuesday as investors bet that the Federal Reserve would act to support the largest economy in the world. U.S. stocks rallied Monday, boosted by generally positive earnings reports. Bets on a Fed rate cut in September increased after Friday's disappointing jobs report. The oil prices fell after OPEC+ increased their output, but gold remained near a week-high and Vietnamese stocks reached a record high. Rodrigo Catril is a senior currency strategist with National Australia Bank. He said that there are signs of weakness within the U.S. The broadest MSCI index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan...

The global stock market remained negative on Friday, after weaker-than-expected U.S. employment data led markets to increase their bets that the Federal Reserve would cut rates. This followed earlier losses caused by U.S. president Donald Trump's latest trade war salvo. Nasdaq and S&P futures fell about 1% following the data release, roughly in line with their previous levels. The pan-European STOXX 600 dropped 1.4%. This brings its weekly decline to around 2%, and puts it on course for its largest weekly drop since Trump's first major tariff wave on April 2. According to a survey by economists, the U.S. economy...

Asian stocks fell on Thursday due to weaker than expected Chinese data and a drop in copper prices. The yen, however, firmed up after the Bank of Japan increased its inflation forecast and kept rates unchanged. The revised forecast indicated cautious optimism that Japan’s trade agreement with the U.S. will help the economy avoid a sharp downturn, and set the BOJ's interest rate hike later in the year. The yen rose 0.6% to 148.62 dollars per yen immediately after the central banks unanimously maintained short-term rates at 0.5%. The Japanese stock market showed no reaction to this decision, with the...

Asian stocks fell on Thursday, after weaker than expected Chinese data and a drop in copper prices. Investors also weighed the impact of a new trade agreement between South Korea & the U.S. Investors weighed the Federal Reserve's decision to keep rates unchanged and megacap tech companies' strong earnings when determining whether or not to buy the dollar. Nasdaq Futures soared 1.2% after Microsoft and Meta Platforms reported earnings that were better than expected. S&P futures rose 0.8% while the U.S. Dollar held steady following a two-month peak. Tony Sycamore is a market analyst with IG Sydney. He said that...

Investors took note of the tariff negotiations between America and its trading partners, while Asian stock markets remained near their four-year high on Tuesday. They were buoyed up by Wall Street's record closing high in advance of a series of corporate earnings. After a weekend election in which the ruling coalition lost in the upper house elections but Prime Minister Shigeru ishiba pledged to stay in his position, the Japanese markets have returned to activity. Japanese shares briefly rose at the opening before trading modestly higher. Bonds had a muted response as the results of the elections were already priced...

Investors were cautious on Wednesday as European stocks were mixed after U.S. data from the previous session suggested that tariffs are causing inflation. This led investors to reduce their bets for rate cuts, and tariff-related uncertainties kept them cautious. Wall Street fell on Tuesday night and U.S. Treasury rates rose as U.S. Consumer Price Data for June showed higher prices for certain goods. The U.S. Tariff Threats also affected the market sentiment, after President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that letters informing smaller countries about their U.S. Tariff Rates would be sent out shortly. Trump announced on Saturday that he...

Chile's copper state commission has lowered its estimate of growth for 2025, saying that it expects a 1.5% increase from last year. This is half the growth estimated by the commission in May, which was 3%. Cochilco announced on Wednesday that the production of the world's largest copper exporter will reach 5.58 millions metric tons in this year. The commission also maintained its forecast for copper prices to average $4.30 per pound in 2025-2026. The Commission said that the decline in growth forecast was due to the June decrease in production of BHP's Escondida Mine, the world's largest copper deposit,...

Radico Khaitan will launch a premium brand of tequila in partnership with Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, Zerodha cofounder Nikhil Kamath, and Zerodha founder Nikhil Kamath. This is their first foray into this category. The Indian liquor producer, well-known for its premium products such as Rampur Indian single malt and Jaisalmer Indian Craft gin, will launch the brand D'YAVOL Anejo, a premium spirit aged in wine casks about two years. D'YAVOL is a luxury brand founded by Shah Rukh Khan's Son Aryan Khan in 2022, along with Leti Blagoeva, and Bunty Sing, and headquartered in Amsterdam. It offers premium streetwear,...

China's steel imports increased in July. This continued a record-breaking trend despite countries erecting trade barriers to prevent a flood of Chinese products. Data from the General Administration of Customs on Thursday showed that steel exports rose by 1.7% in July from June, to 9.84 metric tons. This brings total exports for this year to 67.98 metric tons. The total for the year is at its highest level since 1990. Steel exports by the largest steel producer in the world have led to a global protectionist backlash. Since January of last year, almost 40 countries have launched anti-dumping investigations. Vietnam...

Official data released on Wednesday showed that Brazil exported 41.1 millions metric tons (metric tons) of iron ore during July, breaking its previous record of 39.5 million tons, set in December 2015. Why it's important Brazil is the second largest exporter of iron after Australia. Brazil exports iron ore, along with soybeans and oils. Brazil reported a trade surplus of $7.1 billion for July, a 6.3% decline from the previous year. By the Numbers Brazilian iron ore exports, led by Vale, grew 4.7% from July last year. However, revenues fell 8.8%, to $2.62billion, as prices dropped about 13%. KEY QUOTE...

BHP and Lundin intend to apply soon for a new Argentine incentive scheme for their Vicuna Copper Project, but executives at a mining convention this week expressed concern that they might be left out by the program's deadline of a year. The Large Investment Incentive Program, or RIGI in Argentina, was implemented by President Javier Milei on October 1, 2018. It offers long-term tax breaks as well as access to international dispute tribunals for investments above $200 million. The program will last until July 2026, with the possibility of an additional year. The mining companies welcomed the measure, which they...

Madeleine King, Minister of Resources, said that Australia was considering a price-floor to support vital minerals projects. This includes rare earths. Her comments led to an increase in the share prices of Australian listed rare earths mining companies. Australia is positioning itself to be a source of minerals that are critical for sectors like the automotive and defence industries. On Tuesday, it offered a $87 million lifeline for Trafigura's metals-processing operations. Nyrstar has assessed the potential of its smelters at Port Pirie, Hobart, and Port Pirie to produce antimony bismuth germanium indium. This support is due to the fact that...

The Australian government announced on Tuesday that it would provide A$135 (US$87.4M) in financial assistance to two smelters in Australia's southern region owned by Nyrstar. Nyrstar is a subsidiary of commodity trader Trafigura. Trafigura placed its Port Pirie lead-smelting operations, in South Australia, and its zinc processing operation in Hobart in Tasmania under strategic review in early this year after high energy costs and lower processing fees rendered the businesses unprofitable. Nyrstar, as part of its review, assessed the potential of producing antimony, a critical mineral, at its Port Pirie facility, but it would require government assistance to do so....

Japanese trading house Mitsubishi posted a net loss of 203.1 billion Japanese yen (about $1.4 billion) for the three-month period ending June 30. This was down 43% compared to a year earlier, but still beat analysts' expectations. A LSEG survey of analysts predicted that the company would post a net profit of 180.3 billion yen for its first quarter. Mitsubishi's net profit for the same period in last year was 354.4 billion yen. The company reported that this year's profit was down mainly due to the lack of gains from asset sale and the lower prices of the Australian steelmaking...

Iron ore is the best performing commodity this year, with a price of over $100 per metric ton. This is despite signs that China's steel industry has been slowing down. The Singapore Exchange's most traded iron ore contract ended Wednesday at $101.71 per ton, down from $102.74 at its previous close. The rolling front-month contracts have traded within a narrow range this year. A high of $107.81 per ton was reached on February 12, and a low $93.35 per ton was achieved on July 1. This stability is due to the fact that China imports 75% of all seaborne volumes....

Rio Tinto announced its lowest first-half profit in five years Wednesday as iron ore price remained low due to concerns about oversupply and weak China demand. This was offset by higher earnings from the copper business. The price of iron ore fell in the first half as the top steel consumer, China, decreased its steel production and increased supply from Australia and Brazil. This reduced Rio Tinto's earnings. Morgan Stanley notes that the expectation of China reducing overcapacity and restocking the steel industry before the end of 2025 could lead to an increase in price to $100 per ton by...

IGO, an Australian lithium producer, reported a decline in its annual revenue on Wednesday. It also announced a charge for impairment relating to the troubled Kwinana Lithium Refinery in Western Australia. The Perth-based firm reported sales revenues of A$512.5m for the year ending June 30. This is lower than A$822.6m reported by the company a year earlier. IGO reported that the impairment charge, which is a cost a company incurs when an asset it owns loses value, could range between A$70 and A$90 (between $45.6 million to $58,7 million) for fiscal year 2025. The shares of the Australian producer of...

Newmont exceeded Wall Street's expectations for the second quarter profit, as it benefited from an increase in gold prices. Its shares rose more than 2% in extended trading Thursday. Gold prices have been consistently high over the last few quarters as geopolitical and tariff concerns, coupled with uncertainty about President Donald Trump’s plans for tariffs in the U.S., boosted the metal's appeal as a safe-haven. Gold prices in the second quarter averaged $3,220.58 an ounce. This is more than 12% above the previous quarter and almost 40% higher than levels a year ago. Newmont's gold realized average price was $3,320...