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PMI: UAE non-oil businesses grow in May, but the war and Hormuz standoff are weighing on growth.
A business survey released on Wednesday showed that the UAE's private non-oil sector grew only modestly in May, as the war in the area weighed on the output and growth of new businesses. The S&P Global UAE Purchasing Managers' Index, adjusted for season, rose from 52.1 to 52.6 in the month of May. This index is still above 50 which separates growth from contraction. The continued disruption of maritime trade in the UAE had a cascading effect on the economy during May. Export orders fell in May due to both the shipping disruption and the uncertainty about how long the conflict would last, said David Owen, S&P Global Market Intelligence's principal economist. Owen stated that the input?delivery delays were the most significant since the COVID-19 Pandemic peak in April 2020. The survey's average long-term growth rate was still weaker, but the output growth reached a new high in three months. The growth in new business was also modest, and close to the 62-month low of April. Export sales were down again, but at a much slower pace. The subindex of new orders increased to 52.6 from 52.5 in April. The pace of job creation slowed to its lowest level since October 2025, and the cost pressures were still high due to a rise in material and transportation costs. Surveyed businesses were optimistic about the outlook for the next year. UAE's non oil GDP increased 6.8% from a year ago in 2025, outpacing the overall GDP growth of?6.2%. Dubai, the tourism and business center of the UAE, saw its headline PMI rise to 52 from 51.6. However, output growth has slowed down to its lowest level since June 2021.
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PMI data shows that Saudi Arabia's non-oil private industry activity reached a three-month peak in May.
A survey on Wednesday showed that the non-oil sector in Saudi Arabia expanded at its fastest pace in three month in May as domestic demand improved. Supply chains also stabilised. However, business optimism was still'subdued' due to conflict in the region. S&P Global's seasonally adjusted Riyad Bank Saudi Arabia Purchasing Managers' Index rose from 51.5 to 52.8 in the month of May. The 50-mark?distinguishes growth from contraction. The output accelerated the most in three months after the March downturn that followed the start of the Iran War.?Firms cited normalising work conditions, renewed contracts, and stronger local demand. The subindex of new orders?rose modestly in May to 52.0 from 51.5 in April, and remained below the long-term trend. Exports fell for the third consecutive month due to geopolitical tensions, increased fuel and freight costs, and disruptions in shipping. The decline was only marginally slower than the survey record contraction in April. The supply chain improved as well, with the delivery time of suppliers decreasing for the first three months, due to firms relying more on local vendors. Backlogs of work increased for the 11th consecutive time, but only moderately. Naif Al Ghaith is the Riyad Bank’s chief economist. He said, "Overall the latest PMI reading supports the expectation that Saudi Arabia’s non-oil economic will continue its upward trend throughout the rest of 2026." The business optimism was'muted', with many companies hopeful of a recovery in the market this year, but wary of inflation and geopolitical tensions. (Reporting and editing by Hugh Lawson; Staff Reporting)
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Copper falls from two-week highs as investors pause following rally
Copper prices fell on Wednesday, as investors locked-in profits after the metal reached a two week high. However, uncertainty around a U.S. Tariff on the metal limited losses. As of 0245 GMT, the benchmark three-month price for copper at the London Metal Exchange fell?0.43%. It was $13,980.50 per metric ton. It?touched an over two-week-high and surged beyond the $14,000 mark on Tuesday. The Shanghai Futures Exchange's most active copper contract gained 0.78%, to 106 820 yuan (15 785.90 dollars) per ton. This is lower than the evening trading high of 107.420 yuan, which was set three weeks ago. As the June 30 deadline nears, traders said that prices continue to be supported by uncertainty regarding U.S. Copper Tariffs. The U.S. Commerce Secretary is expected to give President Donald Trump an update by June 30 on the domestic copper market, including refined copper, and refining capacities. Trump signed a Proclamation last week,?amending the tariffs on certain steel, aluminum and copper imports. However, traders claimed that these changes had a little direct impact on refined copper. This move, however, kept the tariff risk front and center for a market already distorted due to expectations of U.S. actions. The LME's tightening supply also boosted sentiment. A widening premium for Comex copper over that of the LME increased the risk of dislocation. The LME Cash-to-three Month Copper Discount The price of a ton dropped to $4 on June 3, down from $77 on the 19th, while the number of cancelled warrants increased. This suggests that more metal was being prepared to be withdrawn. As diplomacy between Iran and the U.S. failed to make any progress, and as the Strait of Hormuz was still closed, fresh hostilities in Middle East were a growing concern. A stronger-than-expected U.S. job openings reading also weighed on metals, supporting ?the dollar and reducing expectations of near-term U.S. rate cuts. On the LME, aluminium was down by 0.05%, while zinc slipped 0.19%. Lead fell 0.32%. Nickel lost?0.64%. Tin was also down?0.20%. Aluminium gained 0.22% on SHFE. Zinc rose 1.27%. Lead grew 0.24%. Nickel lost 0.98%. Tin climbed 1.39%.
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Cambodia uses obscure UN processes to resolve maritime dispute between Thailand and Cambodia
Cambodia has been relying on the little-used UN arbitration procedure known as "compulsory reconciliation" to settle a long-running maritime border dispute with Thailand. It is hoping that this will resolve the dispute and allow it to unlock potential oil and natural gas resources worth billions of dollars. What is the CAMBODIA - Thailand dispute about? Since more than 25 years, Cambodia and Thailand both claim about 26,000 square kilometers of?sea? in the Gulf of Thailand. It is estimated that the disputed maritime belt contains nearly 12 trillion cubic foot of natural gas, and large quantities oil worth about $300 billion. In 2001, the Southeast Asian neighbors signed a pact to create a framework for jointly exploiting the energy resources of the "overlapping claims zone". Thailand's government unilaterally ended the agreement with Cambodia last month, fulfilling an election promise made by Thai PM Anutin Charnvirakul. This was after two deadly rounds of conflict along a disputed border in last year. WHAT IS COMPULSORY conciliation? The Cambodian government announced on Tuesday that it has launched a mandatory conciliation process in accordance with the UN Convention on the Laws of the Sea. A compulsory conciliation is an alternative dispute resolution method that can be initiated by any signatory of the convention against another. The Conciliation Commission is a group of five members that each country nominates two conciliators to. The commission will investigate the facts and legal position of each country to provide a set non-binding recommendation, which is also sent to the UN Secretary General in a separate report. Has it been used before? East Timor (also known as Timor Leste) has been the only country to use this UN-backed mechanism in order to resolve a long-standing maritime dispute with Australia. East Timor officially started the process by sending a notification to Australia on April 11, 2016. Australia agreed a few weeks later to join the process. Early March 2018, after less than two years' worth of negotiations, two countries signed an agreement on maritime boundaries at the UN Headquarters, in front of the UN chief. What is next in the process? The Cambodian Foreign Minister, Prak Sokhonn has been delegated to act as the country's?agent in the proceedings. Peter Taksoe-Jensen, a Danish diplomat, and Jean-Marc Thouvenin, a French academic, have also been appointed to the Conciliation Commission. Taksoe Jensen was the chair of the commission which conducted the negotiations between East Timor, Australia and the Danish diplomat Peter Taksoe Jensen. According to a statement from the Cambodian government, Thailand has 21 calendar days to name its?conciliators. If they fail to do so, Cambodia may request that the UN Secretary-General appoints them in Bangkok's place. Anutin, Thailand's Anutin, said that he did not know that Cambodia had initiated the mandatory conciliation process. He added that his government would use UNCLOS principles for its next actions. He told reporters that Thailand hasn't yet decided when it will move forward. The commission must choose a chairperson in 30 days after four members are appointed. (Reporting and editing by Josh Smith, Kate Mayberry and DevjyotGhoshal)
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Iron ore prices fall due to a weak steel market and dwindling margins
Iron ore fell on Wednesday due to a thinning of steel margins and a seasonal decline in demand from the top consumer, China. As of 0309 GMT, the most-traded contract for iron ore on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange dropped 0.57%, to 780 yuan ($115.27), per metric ton. As of 0259 GMT, the benchmark July iron ore traded on Singapore Exchange fell 1.22% and was at its lowest level since April 15, $103.95 per ton. In a post on WeChat late Tuesday, the steel association, a state-backed organization, said that the steel market had entered its traditionally low demand season sooner than usual. Rain and high temperatures can limit outdoor construction, reducing the demand for steel. "Downstream consumption of steel has been hit as the buying appetite has declined, putting pressure on?steel prices and feedstocks," said Xin?Ge, deputy director at consultancy Lange Steel. Steelmakers should prioritize controlling production, lowering inventories, and reducing the mismatch between supply and demand. Ge Lange, Lange's Ge, said that the rising price of coal after the mine disaster has impacted on steel margins and reduced interest in buying feedstocks. Prices of iron ores rose on Tuesday after the state buyer, China Mineral Resources Group (CMRG), told domestic steelmakers to avoid negotiating with Australia's Fortescue over a new product. This triggered speculation about a potential ban?on purchases. Analysts and traders have downplayed any immediate impact on the price. Coke and coking coal, two other steelmaking ingredients, traded in a mixed manner. Prices of coking coal have increased by 16% since the mine accident that killed a number of miners in late May. The benchmarks for steel on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mostly lower. The rebar price fell 0.06%. Hot-rolled coils dropped 0.15%. Wire rods dropped 0.41%. Stainless steel rose 0.2%. $1 = 6.7666 Chinese Yuan (Reporting and editing by Ronojoya Mazumdar in Beijing, Amy Lv reporting from Shanghai)
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Republican Miller-Meeks and Democrat Bohannan will face off again in the Iowa congressional race
Mariannette Miller Meeks, a Republican U.S. representative from Iowa's 1st congressional district, won renomination on Tuesday. She will now face Democrat Christina Bohannan in her 3rd general election. Miller-Meeks is a 70 year old physician and three term?House Republican. According to U.S. media reports, Miller-Meeks defeated MAGA Republican David Pautsch. Media projected that Bohannan, a Democrat, had defeated Travis Terrell in order to win her party's nomination. Miller-Meeks is one of the House Republicans who are most vulnerable at a moment when high gasoline prices and unpopular wars against Iran have lowered President Donald Trump's ratings, even among Republicans. Bohannan is a 54-year old law professor and former state legislator from the University of Iowa. She has unsuccessfully run against Miller-Meeks twice. She lost the 2024 election to the incumbent by just 800 votes. Her campaign is focused on expanding healthcare coverage, reversing Medicaid cutbacks from Trump's "One?Big Beautiful Act" and affordability. Miller-Meeks will face Bohannan in November, in a race that analysts have classified as a tossup. According to the most recent documents filed with Federal Election Commission, each candidate has more than $4 million in cash.
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Oil prices rise on Mideast missiles, while AI bulls drive stocks higher
The dollar was on the verge of breaking above 160 yen on Wednesday as new hostilities flared up in the Gulf following the failure of U.S.Iran peace negotiations. U.S. crude futures jumped about 2%, to $95.40 per barrel. The?dollar reached 160 yen and then stopped as traders became 'wary' of possible Japanese intervention at that level. S&P 500 futures fell, but the AI bull ran in Asia continued, with stock indexes reaching record highs in Taiwan, Japan, and other Asian countries. South Korean markets are closed. U.S. Central Command reported that Iran launched missiles against Kuwait and Bahrain. These were either thwarted, or they failed. This prompted U.S. Forces to strike back at Iran's Qeshm Island, in the Strait of Hormuz. The Iranian Revolutionary Guards claimed that they had attacked the U.S. Fifth Fleet Headquarters. Iran and the United States announced last week they had reached an agreement to end the war. However, the two sides are yet to sign off on the tentative deal. Chris Weston is the head of research at Pepperstone Brokerage in Melbourne. Things are more precarious now. This does indicate that people are returning to the table to negotiate with less flexibility to achieve this and I think we're starting to see some of these bets unwound." Bitcoin, which has fallen nearly 10% in just three sessions, hit a two-month low on Wednesday of $66,123. AI led Wall Street indexes to make small gains over night, despite war concerns. Marvell Technology shares soared by 32.5%, reaching a new record high. This was after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang referred to the chipmaker as the next trillion-dollar company during Computex Week in Taipei. SpaceX is planning to raise $75 billion next week in a massive initial public offering, selling 555.6 millions shares at $135 a share. The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury rate was 4.46% on Wednesday morning, despite the bond market rallying through Tuesday. Overnight data revealed that U.S. jobs openings in April increased the most since 2005, which indicates a robust job market. It also shows little evidence of the need for lower interest rates. The U.S. ISM services index is expected later on Wednesday. This will be followed by the labour market data for Friday. Peter Dragicevich of payments firm Corpay said that he believes the U.S. employment report could exceed the downbeat forecasts. If this is true, it could bolster the view that the U.S. Fed may raise interest rates in the future, and the USD might'strengthen.' The markets, who had anticipated rate cuts prior to the Iran War, have already priced in 18 basis points for rate increases in the United States this year. The markets have priced in a hike in Europe this week after data showed that inflation accelerated last month. Traders see a 75% probability of a rise in Japan in June. The foreign exchange market was largely stable, with the euro trading at $1.1627 while the dollar was just shy of 160 Japanese yen (159.86). Data showed that Australia's economy slowed down in the third quarter of this year. A boom in data centers boosted investment in business but also reduced imports. The currency remained stable at $0.7177. (Reporting and editing by Neil Fullick; Tom Westbrook)
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Talks at a standstill in the Iran war as hostilities flare up again
On Wednesday, the Gulf was roiled again by reports of missile attacks against Kuwait. Meanwhile, diplomatic talks between Iran & the United States made little progress. Kuwait's army claimed that its air defenses intercepted hostile missiles and drones, while Bahrain reported a warning siren and advised residents to "go to the closest safe space". The United States claimed it had fired at a tanker heading toward Iran. The?news agency of Iran reported that there were explosions heard near Qeshm Island which is near the disputed Strait of Hormuz. This was just the latest in a series of similar flare-ups. The conflict has been at a standstill for more than three months since the U.S., Israel and other countries launched attacks against Iran. A shaky truce is in place, but the Strait of Hormuz still remains closed to most maritime traffic. Last week, Iran and the United States announced that they reached an initial tentative agreement to stop the war. The two sides have yet to sign the agreement. Iranian media reported that Tehran had not spoken to Washington in several days. However, U.S. president Donald Trump stated that negotiations haven't stopped. He said, in a post on social media, that "the conversations between us had been ongoing for four days, three days, two days, one day, and today." Discussions on Nuclear Program Since mid-March Trump has said that he's close to a agreement which would end the fighting, and allow negotiators the opportunity to address thorny questions such as the future of Iran’s nuclear program. Trump has said that his number one priority is to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear arms. Iran denies that it is working on a nuclear weapon and claims its atomic program is for peaceful purposes. Tehran wants?access billions in oil revenue, waivers for crude exports, the lifting of an American blockade of its ports, and to maintain leverage over the Strait. U.S. Secretary Marco Rubio said to lawmakers on Tuesday that Washington would only agree to a reduction in sanctions if Iran agreed to stop its nuclear activities. Rubio said, "The War is Over," in a heated exchange with Democratic New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, who disagreed. ISRAEL CONTINUES TO IMPLEMENT STRIKES IN LEBANON The war, which began on 28 February, has claimed thousands of lives, mostly in Iran and Lebanon. The war has caused global pain, as it has pushed up energy prices. Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz which was previously used to transport about a fifth of world oil and gas. Israel's deepest incursion in Lebanon since 25 years was sparked by the latest conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. According to?Lebanese sources, Israel continued its strikes on Tuesday on a'string of southern Lebanon towns,' despite the partial ceasefire that was announced by the U.S. on Monday. An Israeli drone hovering over Beirut on Tuesday kept residents on edge. "Each time we return home, there's a warning that we may be displaced again," Faten Al Chehime said, after fleeing her home in Beirut suburbs south on Monday. She had only returned to the area two weeks earlier. MSC, the largest shipping company in the world, announced on Tuesday that two projectiles had struck one of its ships the day before while it was docked at Iraq's Umm Qasr Port. Iran's Revolutionary guards?said that they carried out the attacks in retaliation to a U.S. strike on an Iranian vessel within the Gulf of Oman. UNICEF revealed the wide-reaching effects of this crisis. It said that rising transport costs and disruptions in supply chains were preventing life-saving aid from reaching Gaza, Lebanon and other countries. (Writing and editing by Cynthia Osterman; Andy Sullivan)
Gold remains stable amid Middle East tensions and US economic data is in focus
As 'investors' watched for a?development?in the Middle East, amid increasing inflation fears, and awaited US economic data to be released on Thursday, gold prices held steady.
Gold spot was unchanged at $4485.17 an ounce as of 0319 GMT after rising by over 1% the previous session. U.S. Gold Futures for August Delivery fell 0.1% to $4,513.60.
The market is now looking at the possibility that Trump will push for a resolution to a peace agreement, even though Trump wants to see a ceasefire with Iran. Kelvin Wong said.
If we see a further increase in the price of gold, it could dampen any recovery that might have occurred.
The Gulf hostilities erupted again on Wednesday. According to the U.S. Military, Iranian missile attacks against Bahrain, Kuwait and other regional targets have either been thwarted, or failed.
U.S. Secretary of state Marco Rubio stated on Tuesday that the negotiating team of President Donald Trump has not offered Iran relief from sanctions in exchange for reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. He also insisted that any relief of sanctions was linked to Tehran?giving up its nuke programme.
Early Wednesday morning, oil prices increased by more than 1%, causing concern over inflation and rate hikes.
Gold is often viewed as an inflation hedge, but it tends to lose its appeal when interest rates are high.
Beth Hammack, the Cleveland Federal Reserve president, said on Tuesday that the U.S. Central Bank may have to raise interest rates in the near future if inflation pressures already high continue to increase.
Investors will now be awaiting U.S. Nonfarm Payroll Data, which is due later today, and the Employment Report due on Friday to gauge the Fed’s monetary policies.
Silver spot fell by 0.1%, to $75.01 an ounce. Platinum lost 0.2%, to $1.933.15, and palladium rose 0.2%, to $1.372.25. (Reporting and editing by Subhranshu sahu, Ronojoy Mazumdar, and Pablo Sinha from Bengaluru)
(source: Reuters)