China

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...

Scott Bessent, U.S. Treasury secretary, warned Chinese officials on Tuesday that continuing to buy Russian oil sanctioned by Congress would result in large tariffs. However Beijing assured him that it would protect its energy independence. Bessent, who wrapped up two days in Stockholm of U.S. China trade talks, expressed U.S. disappointment at China's continuing purchases of Iranian oil sanctioned by the United Nations, as well as its sales to Russia of more than $15 billion of dual-use technologies that aided Moscow's conflict against Ukraine. Bessent stated that legislation passed by the U.S. Congress allowing Trump to impose tariffs of up...

Refiners are taking advantage of higher profit margins to boost China's exports. Kpler's commodity analysts have compiled data that shows the shipment of middle and lighter distillates in July will be 26.63 millions barrels or 859,000 barrels a day. The data show that this figure is higher than the 796,000 bpd of June, and it's the highest level since March 2024 when the 1.06m bpd was recorded. China's refiners are able to increase production due to their spare capacity. They can also take advantage of the rising margins on refined fuels such as gasoil which is a building block for...

Wayne Cole gives us a look at what the future holds for European and global markets. The Asian markets are quietly picking up after the U.S./EU Tariff Party turned out to be a failure. You felt relieved that only half of your house was destroyed. At least they didn't burn down the whole house. The euro has a slight firmer future and the dollar is steady at just below $1.1600. It was not surprising that the euro fell so quickly, given the crowded long euro/short-dollar trade. And it is suspected that speculators are soon going to sell the dollar. In...

The euro dropped in the early hours of trading on Monday, as investors welcomed a trade deal between the United States an the European Union. The STOXX 600 index opened 0.7% higher, and the euro was 0.3% lower against the dollar. This is the beginning of what appears to be an important week for President Donald Trump's trade war with the rest of the world. The EU will spend $600 billion in U.S. investment and impose a 15 percent import tariff on the majority of EU goods. It will also open up important parts to its market. Chris Turner, an...

The euro strengthened on Monday, after a US-EU trade agreement lifted the mood and provided some clarification in the week of important policy meetings between the Federal Reserve Bank of Japan and the Federal Reserve. A week after agreeing on a trade agreement with Japan, which lowered proposed auto import tariffs, the U.S. has struck a framework deal with the European Union. The U.S. will impose a 15% tariff on the majority of EU goods, half the rate that was threatened. The U.S. president Donald Trump has set a deadline of August 1, and countries are scrambling for trade deals...

The Japanese stock market reached a record high of one year on Wednesday, as the country signed a deal with the United States to lower tariffs on autos. This also revived hopes for an EU-US trade agreement that would boost European stock futures. Donald Trump said late Tuesday that a deal reached with Tokyo would see Japan pay a 15% lower tariff on all shipments to the U.S. The agreement came after the U.S. reached an agreement with the Philippines, where the U.S. will collect a tariff of 19% on imports. Trump said that representatives of the European Union would...

Japanese shares led a rally in the Asian share markets on Wednesday, after U.S. president Donald Trump announced that he had signed a trade agreement with Japan. This fueled hopes for more deals to follow. It also offset mixed U.S. earnings which highlighted the drags of higher tariffs. Trump announced late Tuesday a trade agreement with Tokyo, which he claimed will see Japan invest $550 billion in the United States while paying a reciprocal 15% tariff. The deal came after an agreement reached with the Philippines, where the U.S. will collect a tariff of 19% on all imports. Norihiro Yamaguchi...

The International Energy Agency (IEA), as well as OPEC, are both more conservative in their growth forecasts. The numbers contained in the monthly report of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and the broader OPEC+ are less optimistic. The IEA has largely predicted the same thing in its monthly report for July. It forecast that the global crude oil demand would grow by 700,000.00 barrels per day in 2025. This is the lowest growth rate since 2009. OPEC’s July report is a little more optimistic, predicting that oil demand will rise by 1,29 million bpd by 2025. Of this,...

The International Energy Agency (IEA), as well as OPEC, are both more conservative in their growth forecasts. The numbers contained in the monthly report of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and the wider OPEC+ are less optimistic. The IEA has a similar view. In its monthly report for July, it predicted that the global crude oil demand would grow by 700,000.00 barrels per day in 2025. This is the lowest growth rate since 2009. OPEC’s July report is a little more optimistic, predicting that oil demand will rise by 1,29 million bpd by 2025. Of this, 1.16 million...

The global shares are on track to gain weekly gains this Friday, as strong U.S. corporate earnings and economic data released in the last week have tempered concerns about tariffs for now. Meanwhile, the yen is heading towards a second consecutive weekly loss before a crucial legislative election on Sunday in Japan. The S&P 500 closed at a record high on Thursday, thanks to stronger than expected retail sales data and claims for unemployment benefits, which suggest modest improvements in the economy. MSCI's global stock index edged up by 0.2% on the Friday, and is on track to gain 0.6%...

The iron ore futures price fell for the second consecutive session on Thursday, hitting their lowest level in two weeks as a result of weaker than expected July factory activity figures in China's top consumer. The September contract for iron ore on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange closed the daytime trading 2.38% lower, at 779 Yuan ($108.32), the lowest price since July 17. As of 0748 GMT on the Singapore Exchange, benchmark September iron ore fell by 1.83%, to $99.85 per ton. This is its lowest price since July 16. An official survey released on Thursday showed that China's manufacturing activity...

Raul Jacob, CFO of Grupo Mexico’s Southern Copper, said that the U.S. - China trade war would affect the global economy and the copper sector. He made this statement on a conference call with analysts to discuss the company’s quarterly results on Wednesday. He said: "We think that an intense trade war between the U.S.A. and China could affect economic growth around the world." Jacob, the Chief Financial Officer, said that he expects the industry to remain resilient over the long term. He said, "We continue to maintain a positive outlook for the long-term future of copper." Jacob said that...

The copper price fell to its lowest level in over a week Wednesday, as inventories rose and investors were worried that looming U.S. Tariffs would hit demand. In open-outcry official trading, three-month copper at the London Metal Exchange fell 0.6% to $9,736 per kilogram, after reaching its lowest since July 18, at $9720.50. Analysts said that investors are waiting for details on planned U.S. copper tariffs of 50 percent and whether or not they will be implemented on August 1, as previously announced. U.S. Comex Copper Futures dropped 0.2% to $5.64 a lb. This brings the premium of Comex Copper...

Gold prices rose on Wednesday as investors waited for the Federal Reserve to announce its policy and make comments that might provide more clues about the timing of their next moves. As of 1056 GMT, spot gold was up by 0.1%, at $3,328.15 an ounce. U.S. Gold Futures rose 0.1% to $3,325.10. Gold became less expensive to holders of other currencies after the dollar index fell by 0.1%. "There is a combination of factors that are holding gold prices back." "From a geopolitical perspective, we seem to be making some progress in the tariff negotiation but no one is willing...

Mercedes-Benz cut its forecasts for annual sales and profit margins on Wednesday. The company cited a $420 million hit from U.S. Tariffs in the second-quarter. The German luxury automaker expects to achieve a profit margin between 4% and 6% in its car business for this year, and a group revenue that is "significantly lower" than the levels of 2024, for both its cars and vans. In February, before the U.S. Tariff Changes, the company said that they expected the profit margin of its car division this year to be 6-8%, after 2024 earnings had fallen 30%, with a 40% drop...

Iron ore futures prices fell on Wednesday, as expectations of further stimulus from China's top consumer faded. This erased gains made earlier in the week that were based on the prospect of an extension of the tariff truce between America and Asia. The September contract for iron ore on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange ended the day 0.44% lower, at 789 Yuan ($109.95) per metric ton. As of 0700 GMT, the benchmark September iron ore price on Singapore Exchange dropped by 0.91% to $100.80 per ton. The readout by Xinhua, the state media for the July Politburo that sets the course...

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...

The copper price fell on Tuesday, as traders awaited more clarity from the U.S. on its plan to impose an import tariff of 50% on the metal starting August 1. In official open-outcry trade, the three-month contract for copper on the London Metal Exchange fell by 0.1% to $9,782 per metric tonne. Sudakshina Unnikrishnan, Standard Chartered analyst, said: "There is still uncertainty in the market about what types of copper are covered and if any key suppliers, such as Chile, will be exempted, which will lessen the impact." The premium of the most active COMEX Copper Futures over the LME...

The price of iron ore futures held above the psychologically important level of $100 per metric ton, as investors watched closely for any signs of progress in the Sino-US trade negotiations. As of 0700 GMT, the benchmark September iron ore contract on Singapore Exchange rose 1.9% to $100.70 a metric ton. The contract for September iron ore on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange erased its morning loss and ended daytime trading 0.63% higher, at 798 Yuan ($111.17). The talks between U.S. officials and Chinese officials who met in Stockholm on Monday are expected to continue Tuesday. They will be aimed at...

According to preliminary government data reviewed on Tuesday, India's finished-steel imports fell nearly 30% during the first three month of the fiscal year that began in April due to a consistent fall in shipments out of China and Japan. Data showed that the world's second largest crude steel producer imported 1,4 million metric tonnes of finished steel between April and June, a decrease of 28.8% compared to a year ago. The data shows that China's exports fell by 45.8% and those of Japan by 65.2%. The data shows that China exported 0.3 million tonnes of finished steel to India in...

The price of iron ore futures held above the psychologically important level of $100 per metric ton, as investors watched closely for any signs of progress in the Sino-US trade negotiations. As of 0205 GMT, the benchmark September iron ore contract on Singapore Exchange was up 0.61% at $101.4 per ton. On China's Dalian Commodity Exchange, the most traded September iron ore contract was 0.57% down at 788.5 Yuan ($109.86). The talks between U.S. officials and Chinese officials who met in Stockholm on Monday are expected to continue Tuesday. They aim to resolve the long-standing economic dispute between the two...

On Monday, gold fell to a three-week-low as a U.S. - European Union trade agreement lifted the dollar and risk-sentiment. Investors awaited new cues about rate policy at this week's Federal Reserve Meeting. As of 10:10 am, spot gold dropped 1% to $3304.87 an ounce. ET (1410 GMT), reaching its lowest level since the 9th of July. U.S. Gold Futures fell 0.6% to $3,320.20 an ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index rose to its highest level in a week, increasing the price of bullion for foreign buyers. "I believe the more trade news we receive, the higher the dollar will rise."...