Author: FX

An interesting weekend item from Reuters about oil, but also about circumventing trade payments in the dominant USD – helping Russia to de-dollarise its economy.Indian refiners have begun paying for most of their Russian oil purchased via Dubai-based traders in United Arab Emirates dirhams instead of U.S. dollarsIndia’s top bank, the State Bank of India (SBI), is now clearing these dirham payments, the sources told ReutersReuters cite four sources (unnamed) for the information. More detail at that link. —-The background top this is that banks and financial institutions are cautious about clearing payments, not wanting to unintentionally violate the sanctions…

Scott Olson A San Francisco jury ruled Friday in Tesla founder Elon Musk’s favor in a class-action shareholder lawsuit over his 2018 “funding secured” tweet, in which the entrepreneur questionably claimed to have financing lined up to take Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) private. “Thank goodness, the wisdom of the people has prevailed!” Musk tweeted Friday after jurors in a federal civil trial found on his behalf. “I am deeply appreciative of the jury’s unanimous finding of innocence in the Tesla 420 take-private case.” Class-action lawyers representing shareholders of Tesla (TSLA) sued over an Aug. 7, 2018, tweet in which Musk wrote: “Am…

2/2 © Reuters. Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning attends a news conference in Beijing, China, February 3, 2023. REUTERS/Thomas Peter 2/2 By Brenda Goh SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China’s foreign ministry said on Saturday that flight of a Chinese “airship” over the United States was a force majeure accident, accusing U.S. politicians and media of taking advantage of the situation to discredit China. The United States, saying the craft was a suspected spy balloon that had committed a “clear violation” of U.S. sovereignty, postponed a visit to China by Secretary of State Antony Blinken that had been expected to start…

SlavkoSereda/iStock via Getty Images Energy was easily the week’s worst performing industry sector, falling alongside crude oil prices weighed by rising U.S. inventories and fading optimism over the global demand outlook. Crude stockpiles normally decline at this time of the year, but the U.S. oil market was amply supplied in January, with the inventory build since the beginning of the year totaling 32M barrels and gasoline stocks rising for four straight weeks by a combined 12M barrels. The latest U.S. data showed a 4.1M-barrel increase in crude inventories for the week ended January 27, as well as weekly increases for…

straga/iStock via Getty Images U.S. natural gas futures extended their sharp slide to a 25-month low Friday on forecasts for milder winter weather than expected over the next two weeks. Meteorologists expect the extreme cold currently slamming parts of the U.S. will end by February 4 with average temperatures climbing to mostly above-normal levels through at least February 18. January temperatures in the U.S. Lower 48 states averaged 41.8 degrees Fahrenheit, second warmest on record for the month, and U.S. natgas prices fell 40% for the month in the biggest monthly decline since a 42% thrashing in January 2001. Natural…

Tyson Foods Q1 2023 Earnings Preview Source link

By Mike Stone WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A new rocket that would double Ukraine’s strike range in its war with Russia was included in a $2.175 billion U.S. military aid package, the Pentagon said on Friday. The new weapon, the Ground Launched Small Diameter Bomb (GLSDB), will allow Ukraine’s military to hit targets at twice the distance reachable by the rockets it now fires from the U.S.-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS). The 151 km (94 mile) GLSDB will put all of Russia’s supply lines in eastern Ukraine within reach, as well as part of Russian-occupied Crimea, which Moscow annexed…

The US jobs report was – as Fed’s Daly put it – a “wow” number. The Non Farm Payroll increased by a whopping 517K. The prior two months were revised higher by 71K. The combined total of 587K far outpaced the expectations of 185K. Wow is right. The unemployment rate moved down to 3.4% (expected a rise to 3.6%), the lowest since 1969. The average hourly earnings increased by 0.3% and the YoY by 4.4% which were as expected. The work week increased to 34.7 hours from 34.3 hours expected. That is a big jump and indicative of solid employment.…

Dow, Nasdaq 100, Dollar, USDJPY and Rate Forecasts Talking Points:The Market Perspective: USDJPY Bullish Above 132.00; EURUSD Bearish Below 108In a week packed with event risk, the strong US NFPs and service sector activity shaped the Fed rate hike interpretation for a distinct Dollar takeWhere the Greenback’s fundamentals seem more direct, the bearings for risk trends as the Dow broods and Nasdaq jumps around are unresolved Recommended by John Kicklighter Get Your Free Top Trading Opportunities Forecast As we look ahead to a new trading week, what is the background mood of the market? An argument can be made by…

Despite a less hawkish FOMC event on Wednesday, the U.S. dollar took the top spot among the forex majors this week. Friday’s one-two punch of way better-than-expected U.S. jobs data and U.S. business services survey data easily lifted it back into the green and ahead of the pack into the weekend. Notable News & Economic Updates: IMF raised its global GDP forecast to 2.9% growth this year on China’s reopening J.P.Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI for January: 49.1 vs. 48.7 previous; “Input cost and output price inflation both edge higher” Chinese official manufacturing PMI rose from 47.0 to 50.1 in Jan…