Australia / New Zealand

The dollar fell on Thursday as traders looked to U.S. economic data for more catalysts. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield reached a new high, partly due to concerns over the budget plan of President Donald Trump that will add trillions to U.S. debt. The week began with a slew of positive news for investors, from a truce in the U.S.-China Trade War to a slew of investment deals that made headlines from the Middle East on Trump's Gulf Tour. These moves breathed new energy into the battered stocks around world. The optimism of Thursday has largely faded, with MSCI's broadest...

Global shares and Wall Street rose on an ease in trade tensions, while the U.S. Dollar extended its losses after benign U.S. Inflation data kept Federal Reserve rates on hold. The U.S. China trade truce has dimmed the appeal of gold as a safe-haven. After four sessions of gains, European shares slowed down. Asian shares gained. The MSCI index of global stocks rose by 2.24 points or 0.26 percent to 873.44. Investors have driven global equity markets higher as a truce between China and the United States in their tariff spat appears to be putting a pause on the global...

The European stock market was little changed after a rally on easing trade tensions. Meanwhile, the dollar continued its losses from the previous day as the relatively benign U.S. Inflation data kept Federal Reserve rates on hold. Stocks in Asia rose overnight, while U.S. futures were flat. The S&P 500 entered positive territory for this year after moving into positive territory on Tuesday. Investors have driven global equity markets higher as a truce appears to be in place in the trade war between China and the United States. Lars Skovgaard is a senior investment strategist with Danske Bank. He added,...

The dollar shook on Wednesday as the relatively benign U.S. data on inflation kept the prospect of Federal Reserve rate cuts later this year alive. Investors were still trying to gauge if the worst trade conflict was over. Financial markets were nervous as Donald Trump's trade war with China appeared to be on hold, following a truce between the two countries. Tony Sycamore, IG analyst, said: "I am a bit cautious about chasing this rally at this level." The worst-case scenario is already priced in. MSCI's broadest Asia-Pacific share index outside Japan rose 1.1% after U.S. shares climbed into positive...

The dollar dropped and the major U.S. indexes were mixed Tuesday, after data showed that U.S. consumer prices rose less than expected in March. This was when President Donald Trump announced a series of tariffs which have caused havoc to global markets. On Monday, the U.S. announced that it would suspend its trade war with China for 90 days. It will also reduce reciprocal duties as well as other measures. They will continue to negotiate a permanent agreement. Tuesday's inflation numbers helped fuel this move. The agreement has reignited investors appetite for stocks and commodities, and cryptocurrencies. The MSCI index...

The dollar and global stock markets lost momentum on Tuesday as investors' concerns over the impact of the trade standoff between the United States, China and other countries on the global economy grew. The two biggest economies in the world have agreed to a 90-day truce in their trade dispute. They will lower tariffs on both sides and remove other restrictions while they work out a permanent agreement. The agreement reignited investors' appetite for stocks and commodities. Wall Street rallied 3.3% on Monday. On Tuesday, the enthusiasm for the stock market had diminished. European stocks were up by 0.2% at...

On Tuesday, Asian stocks joined a global rally. The U.S. Dollar held onto most of its gains as investors breathed a huge sigh after a temporary stop in the U.S.-China trade war eased fears of a worldwide recession. The Nikkei index in Japan rose by 2% to its highest level since 25 February. Taiwan, a country with a high tech component, also gained 2%. Chinese stocks were slightly higher at the start of trading. The broadest MSCI index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan is now at its highest level in six months. After the U.S.-China agreement to reduce tariffs for...

In choppy trading, the dollar and U.S. Treasury yields both gained and lost some ground on Wednesday. The Federal Reserve had left its interest rates unchanged but warned of increased inflation and labor market risk. In line with expectations, the U.S. Central Bank held rates at their current level. The central bank said that the economy was continuing to grow at a steady pace, but also noted the rising risks of inflation and unemployment due to the impact of President Donald Trump's new tariff policies. Julia Hermann is a global market strategist at New York Life Investments. She said that...

U.S. stocks futures jumped and the dollar rose Wednesday, on news of a meeting between top U.S.-China trade officials. However, Asian markets were cautious on prospects for a tariff deal ahead of a Federal Reserve rate decision. The U.S. Treasury secretary Scott Bessent stated that the weekend meeting in Switzerland would be about deescalation. China, on the other hand, sounded more cautious and cited the proverb "actions speak louder than words" to explain its caution. S&P 500 futures and Hong Kong's Hang Seng both rose by about 0.6%, after both reversing earlier gains during the Asia session. Japan's Nikkei remained...

U.S. stocks futures and Chinese stock markets both rose on Wednesday as investors welcomed news of a high-level meeting between U.S. officials and Chinese counterparts as an opportunity to reduce tariffs. China also cut interest rates and promised to support the stock market. Scott Bessent, U.S. Treasury secretary, said that the meeting scheduled for this weekend in Switzerland would be a de-escalation. S&P 500 futures were up about 0.9%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1.7% at mid-morning. China blue chips were up 0.5%, while Japan's Nikkei index was largely flat. Ray Attrill, head of Foreign Exchange Research at National...

U.S. stocks futures rose and Asian currencies rose as investors welcomed the news that a top-level meeting between U.S. officials and Chinese officials is scheduled for this weekend in Switzerland. This could be a chance to calm down the trade conflict. Scott Bessent, U.S. Treasury secretary, said on Fox News that he believes the goal is to de-escalate. S&P futures gained about 0.9%. This was a recovery from a drop in the cash session, when U.S. president Donald Trump seemed to have struck a more confrontational note. The stock markets of Japan and Australia have both edged up. The dollar...

Global stocks rose on Friday, while Treasuries lost favour. This was due to optimism over a easing in U.S.-China tensions as well as better than expected U.S. job data. The MSCI world share index increased by 0.6%, reaching levels it last achieved before its dramatic fall early last month after U.S. president Donald Trump announced his Liberation Day Tariffs. The Friday payroll report showed that U.S. employers hired 177,000 people last month. This was higher than the 130,000 expected. In early trading, the S&P 500 gained 1%, while the Nasdaq rose 0.9%. Investors said that the U.S. unemployment rates would...

Two opinion polls released on Thursday showed that Australia's center-left Labor Government is likely to remain in power after a tight national election at the weekend. Voters ranked Donald Trump's policies as their number one concern. According to a RedBridge/Accent poll conducted by News Corp on Thursday, Labor led the Liberal-National Coalition conservative coalition 53%-47% under Australia's preferential voting system for two parties. Votes are then distributed until a winner has been declared. The RedBridge survey showed that Labor could form a majority government or win the election on its own. This is a change from the February poll, which...

Amitava Mukherjee, chairman of the Indian miner NMDC, said that it is looking for coking coal assets in Indonesia and Australia. Coking coal is a key ingredient used to make iron ore and styrene. India, which is the second largest producer of crude iron and steel in the world, imports 85% of coking coal. More than half of Australia's coking-coal imports are accounted for by the country. Mukherjee stated that the company views this as an opportunity for business. The negotiations (for explorations) are at different stages. Due to confidentiality, he did not reveal the specifics of these discussions. NMDC,...

The White House announced on Friday that it would expedite the permitting process for 10 mining projects in the United States, as part of President Donald Trump’s efforts to increase critical minerals production. These projects, which will supply copper, antimony, and other minerals, have been given FAST-41 status. This is a federal initiative that was launched in 2015 for streamlined approvals of critical infrastructure. The White House announced that it would add more projects. The first 10 are listed publicly on a U.S. Federal website, where the progress of their permits can be tracked. This is part of a Trump...

New Hope, an Australian coal miner, announced a higher first-half profit Tuesday. This was due to increased output and sales, as well as reduced costs. It prompted it to increase its dividend and announce a stock buyback. New Hope's net profit for the six months ended January 31 was A$340.3m ($217.18m), up from A$251.7m a year ago. This beat Visible Alpha's consensus forecast of A$302.2m. The total coal sales during the period increased by 44%, to 5.4 millions metric tons. This was mainly due to the significant increase in production at the New Acland Mine in Queensland, where the production...

GFG Alliance is owned by commodities tycoon Sanjeev Gupta. It has been placed under administration last week by the South Australian government. The company wants to raise money for the development of an Australian coking coal mine. The Australian media reported earlier that GFG Alliance is looking to sell its coking coal mine to raise $500 million to help the Whyalla Steelworks, which has been struggling financially. The Premier of South Australia placed Whyalla under administration on February 19, due to unpaid bills. He also said that he wanted to develop lower carbon steel in the state. GFG stated at...

Anglo American’s sale of its Brazilian Nickel business to China’s MMG Ltd. is a win-win for both companies. Anglo delivers on its shareholders' promise to simplify its portfolio, and pockets up to $500m. MMG, a producer of zinc, copper and cobalt, can diversify and grow its geographical footprint by expanding into Brazil. The market for nickel is one of the few that has shown signs of resilience in the face of a glut. It's not good news for western countries that want to escape China's tightening of the global nickel supply chains. China already controls around 75% the refining capacity...

The impact of China's retaliatory duties on U.S. energy exports will be felt most strongly in the seaborne coal market. Beijing imposed an import tariff of 15% on U.S. coal, liquefied gas (LNG), and crude oil on 4 February after U.S. president Donald Trump imposed an additional 10% tax on all imports. Tariffs could kill energy trade between China and the United States. The United States is the biggest exporter of LNG, but ranks fourth for coal and crude oil. The U.S. shares of China's crude oil and LNG imports are small at around 2% each, so the global markets...

The impact of China's retaliatory duties on U.S. energy exports will be felt most strongly in the seaborne coal market. Beijing imposed an import tariff of 15% on U.S. coal, liquefied gas (LNG), and crude oil on 4 February after U.S. president Donald Trump imposed an additional 10% tax on all imports. Tariffs could kill energy trade between China and the United States. The United States is the biggest exporter of LNG, but ranks fourth for coal and crude oil. The U.S. shares of China's crude oil and LNG imports are small at around 2% each, so the global markets...

China's iron ore imports and seaborne coal arrivals are expected to be soft in the first quarter, with January arrivals falling to multi-month lows. The price trend for two of the most important bulk commodities is divergent. Iron ore has held steady, while thermal coal has fallen to its lowest level in almost four years. According to Kpler, commodity analysts, China is the largest iron ore purchaser in the world. It will import 99.5 millions metric tons of this key raw material for steel in January. This would be a drop from the official December customs figure, which was 112.5...

Whitehaven Coal, Australia's largest coal producer, posted a 92.7% increase in production for the second quarter on Wednesday. This was largely due to strong contributions from its New South Wales mines as well as its newly acquired Queensland mines. The New South Wales operations of the miner, which includes Maules Creek and Narrabri, saw a 1.3% increase in their managed run-of mine (ROM) production. Whitehaven, who purchased the Blackwater and Daunia coal mines from BHP Group in December for $4.1 billion, produced a total of 4.6 millions metric tons of ROM coal for the three-month period ended December. This was...

China, the world's leading coal importer, bought less Russian coal in 2024 while increasing purchases from other key providers, led by Australia, throughout a. record year for coal imports, customs data revealed on Monday. Purchases by China in 2015 reached an all-time high of. 547.2 million tons, or a record 41% of internationally traded coal,. according to LSEG research, providing China increased rates power. in international markets. Chinese need is helping assistance rates at levels that,. according to the International Energy Firm (IEA), are 50%. higher than the average during the 2017-19 period. In 2015, imports from leading supplier Indonesia...

Chile, the world's No. 1 copper manufacturer, will improve its output of the red metal to 5.54 million metric loads in 2034, representing a 5.6% increase from 2023, staterun copper commission Cochilco stated on Wednesday. The Latin American nation produced 23.6% of the world's. copper in 2024, Cochilco said. That amount is anticipated to. boost, with Chile's hold over the industry representing a. 27.3% share by 2034, it added. Cochilco stated it expected Chile to reach a peak production. level in 2027, mining 6.07 million lots of copper that year. From there, annual output is anticipated to change at lower....