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Khaleej Times
43 minutes ago
- Business
- Khaleej Times
Dubai: Gold prices recover ahead of Eid Al Adha holidays
Gold prices recovered in Dubai on Monday morning, rising Dh3 per gram ahead of the Eid holidays. The 24K variant of the precious metal rose to Dh399.25 per gram on Monday, up from Dh396.25 per gram at the close of the market over the weekend. Among the other variants, 22K, 21K and 18K opened higher at Dh369.75, Dh354.5 and Dh303.75 per gram, respectively. In the UAE, employees in the public and private sectors will have four-day holidays from Thursday to Friday. Gold jewellery sales pick up during some of the major festivals such as Eid Al Adha. Spot gold was trading at $3,318.14 per ounce, up 0.84 per cent, as an escalation in the Russian war in Ukraine and US President Donald Trump's fresh threat to double tariffs on imported steel and aluminium prompted investors to seek refuge in safe-haven bullion. The US president threatened on Friday that he plans to raise tariffs on imported steel and aluminium to 50 per cent from 25 per cent, prompting the European Commission to warn that Europe is prepared to retaliate. Ipek Ozkardeskaya, a senior analyst at Swissquote Bank, said trade tensions are heating up again. 'Not only does Donald Trump seem unfazed by growing questions around the legitimacy of his tariffs, but he also accused China of violating the trade truce they signed in Geneva earlier this month. The US spent the week cancelling Chinese student visas and imposing fresh restrictions on chip designers doing business in China. China responded, accusing the US of imposing 'discriminatory restrictions,' he said. 'Cherry on top, the US announced an increase in tariffs on steel and aluminium imports to 50 per cent, from the 25 per cent previously in place — perhaps to help facilitate the recent deal between the US and Nippon Steel,' he added.
Straits Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
Singapore stocks fall as Trump tariffs resumes for now; STI retreats 0.6%
The STI was led by DFI Retail Group, which rose 3 per cent to US$2.76. PHOTO: ST FILE Singapore stocks fall as Trump tariffs resumes for now; STI retreats 0.6% SINGAPORE – The Trump tariff roller-coaster took another swing through markets on May 30 and helped depress shares across the region. The latest twist in the seemingly never-ending saga came when a US appeals court paused a ruling that blocked President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs, and in turn stopped Thursday's rally dead in its tracks. That left the benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) down 0.6 per cent or 22.23 points to 3,894.6 with losers beating gainers 248 to 209 on trade of 1.3 billion securities worth $3.3 billion. Ms Ipek Ozkardeskaya, analyst at Swissquote Bank, said the optimism triggered by the initial ruling that halted the 'Liberation Day' tariffs 'turned out too good to be true' as it is now effectively on hold. 'If tariffs are ultimately found to be unlawful, the willingness of partners to make concessions during trade talks may shrink – not exactly ideal, especially given the critical window for negotiations,' she added. Regional indexes reacted negatively. Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 1.2 per cent, South Korea's Kospi fell 0.8 per cent, the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo declined 1.2 per cent and Malaysian shares slipped 0.7 per cent. By contrast, Wall Street shrugged off the tariff news overnight and focused more on tech stocks after Nvidia posted robust earnings. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 both rose 0.4 per cent while the Dow Industrials added 0.3 per cent. Meanwhile, the STI was led by DFI Retail Group, which rose 3 per cent to US$2.76. After the market closed, the group said it will divest a 22.2 per cent stake in Robinsons Retail. DFI parent company Jardine Matheson did not fare so well, falling 2.4 per cent to US$44.50, after announcing that chief executive John Witt is retiring at the end of November. The local banks were in the red: DBS fell 0.6 per cent to $44.72; UOB declined 1.2 per cent to $35.41; and OCBC retreated 1 per cent to $16.23. THE BUSINESS TIMES Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The National
23-05-2025
- Business
- The National
Oil prices down amid expectations of Opec+ supply boost in July
Oil prices were lower on Friday, heading for their first weekly loss in a month, after reports that Opec+ is planning to boost supply again in July. Brent, the benchmark for two thirds of the world's oil, was down 0.65 per cent to $64.02 a barrel at 12.19am UAE time. West Texas Intermediate, the gauge that tracks US crude, shed 0.69 per cent to $60.78 per barrel. After surging on Tuesday, Brent and WTI are on pace to shed 2 per cent on a weekly basis. So far this year the benchmarks have retreated about 15 per cent. The Opec+ group of producers, led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, had announced output increases of 411,000 barrels per day for May and June. It is likely to announce a similar increase for July during its June 1 meeting, Bloomberg quoted delegates as saying on Friday. However, no final decision has been made yet, the delegates added. Meanwhile, demand prospects also remain uncertain amid trade tensions caused by the sweeping tariffs announced by the Trump administration, said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, a senior analyst at Swissquote Bank. "This move [by Opec+] may be an attempt to appease Donald Trump, who has long lobbied for lower energy prices, or possibly to penalise member states that have repeatedly breached their quotas," she said. "Either way, Opec+ appears less willing to cut supply to support prices ... geopolitical tensions alone are not enough to push prices sustainably higher – unless they escalate into something far worse, which we obviously don't hope for." How Opec+ policy evolves during this year will depend on internal compliance issues and the broader developments in the oil market, analysts at Saudi Arabia's Jadwa Investment said in its oil market update for May. The group is likely to scale back production increases later in the year as global inventories start to increase. "If Opec+ continues to accelerate production at the same rate as May-June, production in October 2025 would exceed the previous plan for October 2026. This could lead to substantial oversupply, taking into account expected gains in non-Opec+ oil production," the analysts said. For the producers in Opec specifically, a looser production strategy may be a good opportunity to place pressure on higher cost oil producers and win back some market share, with "the added benefit of bolstering good relations with the US given President Trump's stated desire for lower oil prices", the Jadwa analysts added. The oil market faces continued uncertainty, awaiting the outcomes of a potential US-Iran nuclear deal and developments on American tariff negotiations with trading partners around the world, with a particular focus on talks with China. The US and China, the world's two biggest economies and main protagonists in the tariff war, agreed to a 90-day trade truce after a much-anticipated meeting in Geneva this month. The two sides continued discussions on Thursday, an apparent signal of progress in efforts to reach a middle ground on tariffs.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Investors Could Increase Protection Against Weaker Dollar
Investors could take increased protection against losses stemming from a weaker dollar given that global portfolios are heavily invested in U.S. companies, Swissquote Bank analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya said in a note. Investors previously didn't feel the need to hedge against a weaker dollar because in times of market volatility the currency typically strengthens on safe-haven flows. "But recently, the dollar has been weakening despite rising volatility, and the latter increases hedging costs, leading to an unusual negative correlation between the dollar and volatility."
Gulf Today
14-05-2025
- Business
- Gulf Today
European shares rise as US, China reach deal to slash tariffs for 90 days
European shares rose on Monday after the United States and China said they have agreed on a deal to slash reciprocal tariffs, giving investors some confidence that a full-scale trade war may have been averted. Speaking after talks with Chinese officials in Geneva, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters the two sides had agreed on a 90-day pause on measures and that tariffs would come down by over 100 percentage points to 10%. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.9% as of 0853 GMT. Other regional indexes also rose, with Germany up 1.1%, France up 1.3%, Spain rising 0.7%, and the UK gaining 0.5%. "European markets are riding with for the FTSE is under pressure due to its exposure to pharmaceutical companies," said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior market analyst at Swissquote Bank. Signs of de-escalation between the US and China in the recent weeks have helped the European equities recover their sharp losses from early April, with Germany's benchmark DAX index hitting a new record high on Monday. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi speaks during a meeting with foreign ministers and representatives from the Caribbean countries in Beijing on Monday. Reuters German sportswear makers Adidas and Puma gained 2.7% and 4.8%, respectively. European logistics firms rise European logistics companies also rose on news of the deal with Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd advancing 11.6% and 12%, respectively. Healthcare stocks fell 2.6% after President Donald Trump said he would sign an executive order to cut prescription drug prices to the level paid by other high-income countries. Shares in Novo Nordisk fell 5.7%, under pressure after latest data from US competitor Eli Lilly, which said its drug Zepbound was superior to Novo's Wegovy across five weight-loss targets. Other healthcare heavyweights GSK, Roche Holding , Sanofi and AstraZeneca fell between 1.3% and 3.1%. "These (European pharma) companies have been quite optimistic that they do have their protections in the US, so they won't be hit by tariffs as bad as the other sectors. But now... there's going to be a certain pressure on their revenues from the US sales," Swissquote Bank's Ozkardeskaya said. European arms makers fell 2.1% after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was ready to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Turkey on Thursday. Reuters
