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Investors await economic news to see if stocks will rise or dollar edge up.
The dollar edged up as investors focused their attention on important market data that will be released later this week to help gauge Federal Reserve policy. Oil ?prices declined. Investors were monitoring developments in Venezuela. Maria Corina Machado has promised to return to Venezuela quickly. She praised U.S. president Donald Trump for toppling Nicolas Maduro and declared her movement prepared to win a fair election. Trump's administration will meet with executives of oil companies this week to discuss increasing production in Venezuela. There's a great deal of retooling needed to prepare these downstream producers for this crude oil. It is possible - and it will probably be. Mark Malek is chief investment officer of Siebert Financial. He said that the biggest questions are how long it will take to invest, how much money, and who will make this investment. Stock Indices Climb Investors were betting that Washington would allow U.S. companies access to Venezuelan oil reserves. The Dow reached a new record, and?chip stocks rose due to renewed optimism about artificial intelligence. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 526.20, or 1.07 percent, to 49.503.38, while the S&P 500 gained 45.15, or 0.65% to 6,947.20, and the Nasdaq Composite increased by 147.73, or 0.63% to 23,543.50. The MSCI index of global stocks rose by 7.36 points or 0.72% to 1,035.38. The STOXX 600 pan-European index finished up by 0.58%. Investors remain confident about the economy despite increasing geopolitical tensions. The dollar index (which measures the greenback in relation to a basket including the yen, the euro and other currencies) rose by 0.17%, reaching 98.56. U.S. ECONOMIC DATA TO SET MARKET TONE Expectations of U.S. rate cuts drove the positive mood on the?markets. The traders were focusing on the U.S. employment report due Friday. This will affect market expectations for monetary policy. According to LSEG, financial markets are pricing two Fed rate reductions this year. The yield on the benchmark U.S. 10-year note rose 1.2 basis point to 4,175% from 4,163% on Monday. U.S. crude oil fell $1.19, settling at $57.13 per barrel. Brent oil declined $1.06, settling at $60.70. Gold prices rose on Tuesday as demand for safe-haven assets boosted the price. After a near 3% rise in the previous session, spot gold increased by 0.86% to $4,486.57 per ounce. Nickel jumped more than 9% and copper soared above its 18-month high as concerns about supply fueled a rally early in the year for industrial metals.
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Brazil's trade surplus will be higher in 2026 than its own projections, after exceeding them last year
The Ministry of Development Industry Trade and Services announced on Tuesday that Brazil is expecting a trade surplus between $70 billion and $90 billion by?2026. Last year's results exceeded government expectations. Latin America's biggest economy posted a $68.3-billion surplus in 2025. This is down from $74.2-billion in 2024, as imports increased faster than exports. This shows the resilience of the economy, despite high borrowing rates to control inflation. The surplus was higher than the most recent estimate of $61 billion by the Ministry. It followed a December surplus of $9.6 Billion. Vice President Geraldo Alckmin said at a press briefing that he was "optimistic" about the growth of foreign trade, even if there were greater geopolitical instabilities. BRAZIL HOPEFUL FOR TRADE DEALS Alckmin who is also the head of the ministry said that the 'government' remains hopeful about concluding a deal between Mercosur, the South American block, and the European Union. He added that he expects Mercosur to seal a free-trade agreement with the United Arab Emirates. Brazil is aiming to extend preferential tariffs with India, Mexico and Canada. Imports increased 6.7% last year while exports rose by 3.5%. This was despite the fact that U.S. tariffs were imposed on several products, which were later partially reversed. Alckmin also said that Brazil expects to progress talks with the U.S., and address non-tariff concerns involving rare Earths, big technology and data centers. He said that Brazil had abundant renewable energy. Alckmin was asked about the impact of Venezuelan oil production following the capture by the U.S. of Venezuela's president. He acknowledged that oil is Brazil's number one export but said any market effects would not be immediately. He said that although Venezuela has large oil deposits, it is not possible to achieve anything overnight. "Investment is required," he added. By the Numbers Brazilian export gains in 2025 were largely driven by increased shipments of beef, soybeans, corn, and coffee, which offset annual declines for crude oil?and iron ore due to falling commodity prices. China remains Brazil's largest trading partner. Exports to China increased by 6%, reaching $100 billion. This represents nearly 30% of Brazil's total sales overseas. Brazilian exports to the United States fell 6.6%, to $37.7billion. (Reporting and editing by Franklin Paul, Matthew Lewis and Rod Nickel in Brasilia)
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As geopolitical risk increases, gold prices are on the verge of a record high.
Gold extended gains on Tuesday, boosted by demand for safe-haven assets after the 'U.S. The?capture' of Venezuela's President fueled global tensions. Investors awaited U.S. Payroll data to gain insight into the Federal Reserve interest rate policy. By 01:40 pm, spot gold had risen 0.8% to $4,485.39 an ounce. ET (1840 GMT), following a nearly 3-percent gain in the previous day, prices are now closer to the record high $4,549.71 set on December 24. U.S. Gold Futures for February Delivery settled?1% higher, at $4496.010. Jim Wyckoff is a senior analyst with Kitco Metals. He said that precious metals traders are more concerned about the future than bond and stock traders. The weekend U.S. attack on Venezuela has also fueled the demand for safe havens like gold and silver. After the U.S. had seized Maduro and taken him to New York at the weekend, the ousted Venezuelan president pleaded 'not guilty' to charges of narcotics. The gold price, which is considered to be a safe haven by many, rose 64.4% in the last year. This was its best performance since 1979. The market participants will also be looking at Friday's U.S. employment report. It is expected to show that 60,000 new jobs were added in December, a slight decrease from the 64,000 created in November. According to LSEG, traders are pricing in at least two Federal Reserve rate reductions this year. Tom Barkin, the Richmond Fed president, said that future rate changes need to be "finely-tuned" in order to balance both unemployment and inflation risks. Low interest rates tend to be beneficial for non-yielding metals. Morgan Stanley predicted that gold prices would surge to $4800 by the fourth quarter of this calendar year. They cited falling interest rates, changes in Federal Reserve leadership, and central bank and funds purchases. Spot silver, whose all-time record high was $83.62 per ounce on December 29, gained 5.4%, to $80.68. Silver's annual gain was 147% in 2025. This was due to a rise in industrial demand and investor interest. Palladium was 5.9% higher, at $1,821.68 an ounce. Spot platinum rose 7.2% to $2,435.20. (Reporting and editing by Joe Bavier, Vijay Kishore, and Anmol Choubey from Bengaluru)
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Futures prices for soybeans and grains are rising as China purchases more US supplies
Chicago Board of Trade Soybean futures rose slightly on Tuesday, as China purchased more U.S. soybeans. The corn and wheat futures both rose slightly as the agricultural markets continued to gain after recovering?on Monday? from recent multi-week?lows. Traders were watching closely the?Chinese?demand for U.S. soybeans after Washington announced in late October Beijing's agreement to purchase supplies as part a truce between the two countries in their trade war. Three traders said that China's stockpiler Sinograin bought 10 U.S. soy cargoes this week, totaling around 600,000 tons. U.S. Department?Agriculture confirmed later that exporters had sold 336,000 metric tonnes of U.S. soya beans to China for delivery in 2025/2026. Traders said China's total U.S. soya purchases have risen to 10 million tons in the time since the trade truce. This is more than 80% of the 12 million metric tonnes that U.S. Treasury secretary Scott Bessent had previously stated China would buy by the end?of February. Jim Gerlach of A/C Trading, Indiana, stated that some traders feared Beijing would stop buying after the U.S. captured Venezuela's president, a Chinese strategic partner. Gerlach stated that "the fact that they purchased beans despite the goings on is supportive." The most active CBOT soybean contracts were up a cent to $10.63 per bushel at 11:30 am CST (1730 GMT). The benchmark contract reached its lowest level in October on Friday. CBOT Corn rose by 2 cents to $4.46-1/2 per bushel. CBOT Wheat gained 1/2 cent to $5.13 per bushel. On Friday, wheat reached its lowest level since October. Corn hit a 2-week low on Monday and then turned higher. Gerlach stated that the fear of dry weather damaging corn crops in Argentina was a factor in driving prices. Analysts kept an eye out for dryness in the U.S. wheat belts. Josh Lawrence, an advisor consultant at IKON Commodities, said that "pockets of dryness" in the U.S. Plains supported wheat. The gains were still limited due to the abundance of supplies from major exporting nations. Grain traders also watched investor flows, which are linked to changes in commodity indexes and were looking forward to the crop data that the U.S. Department of Agriculture is due to release next Monday.
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As geopolitical risk increases, gold prices are on the verge of a record high.
Gold extended gains on Tuesday due to the demand for safe-haven assets after 'the U.S. The capture of Venezuelan president fuelled global tensions. Investors awaited U.S. employment data to gain insight into Federal Reserve interest rate policy. By 11:50 am, spot gold had risen 0.9% to $4,488.10 an ounce. After a near 3% increase in the previous session at 1650 GMT, prices are now closer to the record high price of $4,497.11 set on December 24. U.S. Gold Futures for February Delivery advanced by?1% to $4496. Jim Wyckoff is a senior analyst with Kitco Metals. He said that precious metals traders are more concerned about the future than bond and stock traders. The weekend U.S. attack on Venezuela fueled the demand for safe havens like gold and silver. After the U.S. had seized Maduro and taken him to New York at the weekend, the ousted Venezuelan president pleaded not guilt?on Monday? to narcotics? charges. The gold price, which is considered to be a safe haven by many, rose 64.4% in the last year. This was its best performance since 1979. The market participants will also be watching Friday's U.S. employment report. It is expected to show that 60,000 new jobs were added in December. This is a slight decrease from the 64,000 jobs added the previous month. According to LSEG, traders are pricing in at least two Federal Reserve rate reductions this year. Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin said that future rate changes need to be "finely-tuned" in order to balance both unemployment and inflation risks. Low interest rates tend to be beneficial for non-yielding metals. Morgan Stanley predicted that gold prices would surge to $4800 by the fourth quarter of this calendar year. They cited falling interest rates, changes in Federal Reserve leadership, and central bank and funds purchases. Spot silver, whose all-time record high was $83.62 per ounce on December 29, gained 5.3% to $80.57. Silver's annual gain was 147% in 2025. This was due to a rise in industrial demand and investor interest. Palladium was 6.3% higher, at $1,815 an ounce. Spot platinum rose 6.5% to $2,417.70. (Reporting and editing by Joe Bavier, Vijay Kishore and Anmol Choubey from Bengaluru)
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Investors await economic data to see if stocks will rise and the dollar inch up.
Investors focused on the key data that will be released later this week to help gauge the outlook of the Federal Reserve policy. Prices of oil are falling. Investors were monitoring developments in . Maria Corina Machado has promised to return to her country as soon as possible, hailing U.S. president Donald Trump for overthrowing her opponent, Nicolas Maduro. She also declared that her movement was ready to win an election free of corruption. Trump's administration will meet with executives of oil companies this week to discuss increasing production in Venezuela. There's a lot of retooling needed to prepare these downstream producers for this crude oil. It is possible - and will probably be. Mark Malek is chief investment officer of Siebert Financial. He said that the biggest questions are how long it will take to invest, how much, and by whom. Stock Indices Climb Investors?bet Washington that it would allow U.S. companies access to Venezuelan oil reserves. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by?173.14 or 0.35% to 49,150.32. The?S&P 500 rose by 27.19 or 0.39% to 6,929.24. And the Nasdaq Composite grew 110.14 or 0.47% to 23,505.95. The MSCI index of global stocks rose 5.53 points or 0.54% to 1,033.55. The pan-European STOXX 600 rose by 0.66%. Investors remain confident in economic prospects despite the escalating tensions on geopolitical fronts. The dollar index (which measures the greenback in relation to a basket?of currencies including the yen, the euro and others) rose by 0.18%, reaching 98.56. U.S. ECONOMIC DATA TO SET MARKET TONE Markets were buoyed by the expectation of interest rate reductions in the United States. Traders focused on the U.S. employment report due Friday. This will affect market expectations on monetary policy. According to LSEG, financial markets are pricing two Fed rate reductions this year. The yield on the benchmark U.S. 10 year notes increased 2 basis points to 4.185% from 4.163% on Monday. U.S. crude dropped 0.27%, to $58.16 per barrel. Brent fell to $61.65 a barrel, down by 0.18%. Gold prices rose on Tuesday as demand for safe-haven assets boosted the price. Gold spot was up 0.9% to $4,486.12 an ounce at 11:54 am?ET (1654 GMT) after nearly 3% gains in the previous session. Nickel soared more than 9% and copper jumped to a new all-time peak, as concerns about supply fueled a rally early in the year for industrial metals.
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Why is Somaliland strategically important?
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, met with the President of Somaliland Tuesday. This was 10 days after Israel officially recognised the breakaway region of?the Horn of Africa' as a sovereign and independent state. Somalia has protested the move, saying that it is a threat to its sovereignty. A Somaliland source and regional diplomat have said other countries are preparing to follow their lead and'recognise Somaliland. U.S. U.S. Why is the location of Somaliland strategic? Somaliland is located at the intersection of the Indian Ocean, Red Sea and the Arabian Sea. Its Berbera Port provides access to the busiest shipping routes in the world. Analysts believe that Israel's recognition of Somaliland is a response to the Houthi militia's attacks on ships plying these routes. This could lead to an agreement for military cooperation between Israel and Somaliland. Somaliland has, however, denied that recognition would allow Israel to set up military bases or resettle?Palestinians in Gaza. What other countries could?recognise Somaliland? Ethiopia, Africa's most populous landlocked country, also has its eyes on Somaliland. In 2024, it announced a memorandum to lease a region around the Berbera Port in exchange for Addis Ababa recognizing the region's independent status. This deal provoked an angry response in Somalia and brought the Mogadishu Government closer to Egypt. Egypt has been at odds with Ethiopia over Addis Ababa’s construction of?a vast dam on the Nile River for years. Eritrea is another Ethiopian foe. Turkey maintains close ties to both Ethiopia and Somalia. It trains Somalia's security force and provides development assistance as a way of gaining a foothold along the main global shipping route. Ethiopia agreed to work with Somalia in December 2024 after talks were mediated by Turkey. However, it now appears to be preparing to recognize Somaliland. India has 'denied' talk on X about it also preparing for recognition of Somaliland. However, some analysts say that India should do this to counter Chinese influence in the Horn of Africa and specifically Djibouti as well as Kenya?and Tanzania. United Arab Emirates has carved out its own sphere in the region. The Abraham Accords, mediated by the United States, normalised Israel's relations in 2020. The Berbera Port is run by Dubai's state-owned company DP World. It also runs Berbera Airport and a Free Trade Zone between the airport and port. (Written by Silvia Aloisi and William Maclean)
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As geopolitical risk increases, gold prices are on the verge of a record high.
Gold extended its gains on Tuesday, boosted by demand for safe-haven assets after the?U.S. The capture of Venezuela's President sparked global tensions. Investors awaited U.S. Payroll data to gain insight into the Federal Reserve interest rate policy. By 09:55 am, spot gold had risen 0.9% to $4,488.10 an ounce. After a near 3% rise in the previous session (1455 GMT), prices are now a little closer to the December 24 record high of $4,497.11. U.S. Gold futures for?delivery in February rose 1.1% to $4498.70. Jim Wyckoff is a senior analyst with Kitco Metals. He said that precious metals traders are more concerned about the future than bond and stock traders. The weekend U.S. attack on Venezuela has also fueled the demand for gold, silver and other safe havens. After the U.S. took him to New York at the weekend, the ousted Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro plead not guilty Monday?to charges of narcotics. The gold price, which is considered to be a safe haven by many, rose 64.4% in the past year. This was its best performance since 1979. The market participants will also be looking at Friday's U.S. employment report. It is expected to show that 60,000 new jobs were added in December. This represents a slight decrease from the 64,000 added the month before. According to?LSEG, traders are pricing in at least two Federal Reserve rate reductions this year. Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin said that future rate changes need to be "fine-tuned"?to balance unemployment and inflation risks. Low interest rates tend to be beneficial for non-yielding metals. Morgan Stanley predicted that gold prices would?surge? to $4,800 in the fourth quarter this year. They cited falling 'interest rates', changes of leadership at the Federal Reserve, and central bank and funds purchases. Spot silver, which reached an all-time peak of $83.62 per ounce on December 29, increased 4.8% to $80.18. Silver's annual gain was 147% in 2025. This is due to a rise in industrial and investor demand. Palladium was 5.2% higher, at $1,795.68 an ounce. Spot platinum traded up 5.2% to $2,388.50. (Reporting and editing by Joe Bavier in Bengaluru, Anmol Choubey)
Chile's Corfo agency prepares lithium contracts in advance of SQM and Codelco deal
Corfo, the Chilean agency for economic development, announced on Monday that it had submitted to the comptroller’s office terms of a modified leasing agreement with lithium producer SQM until 2030 and a new lease 2031-2060 for a joint-venture between SQM ad state copper producer Codelco.
SQM is expected to complete a partnership with Codelco this year on the Atacama Salt Flat in northern Chile, which will be the first significant foray of the state into lithium production.
Corfo, the company that leases mining rights on the Atacama flats, announced in a press release that the board of directors approved the final contracts last week.
Included in these contracts are lease payments and contributions tied to the lithium price. Contributions will be given to local governments, Indigenous communities and other organizations to encourage investment and fund developments. The contracts will also include stronger environmental requirements regarding clean energy and water usage.
Corfo said it will continue to offer its preferred pricing program to companies who wish to produce lithium products in Chile.
Corfo said that it would lead a “monitoring table” for representatives of Indigenous Communities to track the promises made by SQM or Codelco.
In a separate press release, Codelco said that the new Corfo contract will ensure continuity of operations, environmental standards, and respect for local communities.
After other countries have approved the partnership, China's antitrust regulators must still approve it. This is the final condition for the deal to be completed.
(source: Reuters)