Category: Market

ISTANBUL: Following rises in commodity markets, priced ease but fluctuated after the end of Iran’s military response to Israel over the weekend.

The price of Brent oil per barrel lost around 0.85% to $89.7 compared to Friday’s close. Last week, it saw the $92.5 level, which is around the peak for the last six months.

Natural gas prices dropped 0.85% and heating oil fell 0.89% over the same period as of GMT1015.

The price of gold per ounce gained 0.33% to $2,351.4 versus last week’s close. Last week, it also hit a historical high of $2,430.

Silver also gained 1.82% to $28.35 after hitting $29.6 last week.

Steel prices dropped 0.12%, while copper rose 0.75%.

Wheat prices dropped 1.13% and soybeans dropped 0.21%, while rice earned 2.44%.

Source: Anadolu Agency

ANKARA: Oil prices declined on Monday amid uncertainty over the timing of the US Federal Reserve’s (Fed) interest rate cuts and last week’s profit taking from five-month high prices.

International benchmark Brent crude traded at $89.94 per barrel at 10.33 a.m. local time (0733 GMT), a 0.56% decline from the closing price of $90.45 per barrel in the previous trading session.

The American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) traded at $85.14 per barrel at the same time, a 0.61% drop from the previous session that closed at $85.66 per barrel.

Prices reached five-month highs last week over global oil supply concerns due to tensions in the Middle East.

A missile strike on the Iranian Consulate in the Syrian capital, Damascus, resulted in the killing of a top commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and six other officers on April 1.

The situation exacerbated tensions in the region, where busy energy supply routes are located.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched a barrage
of drones and missiles at Israel late on Saturday in response to the attack on the Iranian Consulate.

Prices lost some steam with increasing diplomatic efforts to reduce tensions between Iran and Israel.

Following the attacks, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the US “does not desire more conflict in the region” during a meeting with foreign ministers from Trkiye, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, and the UK to discuss the situation.

This statement aided the fall in prices by feeding hopes of easing regional tensions and a likely end to supply disruptions.

At the beginning of the week, however, uncertainty over the timing of the US Fed’s interest rate cuts combined with Fed officials’ statements put downward pressure on prices.

The bank wants to see more “confidence” that inflation is moving lower to its 2% target before beginning to cut interest rates, according to minutes of its recent meeting released last week.

During the Fed’s next two-day meeting, set for May 1, the bank is expected to kee
p the federal funds rate unchanged.

Source: Anadolu Agency

ANKARA: Trkiye’s unemployment rate dropped to a 4-month low of 8.7% in February, down 0.3 percentage point from a month earlier, according to data released on Monday.

The figure was down from 9% in January 2024 and 10% in February 2023, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) data showed.

The number of jobless slipped 109,000 from the prior month to 3.08 million as of February.

The unemployment rate was 7.3% for men and 11.3% for women in February.

The labor force participation rate came in at 54% in the month. The employment rate was 49.3%, or 32.4 million people, as of this February.

The youth unemployment rate – ages 15-24 – was 15.6% in February, falling from 16.4% in January. The rate was 13.3% for men and 19.6% for women.

Source: Anadolu Agency

ISTANBUL: Trkiye’s budget balance posted a deficit of 513.5 billion liras ($16.6 billion) during the first quarter of this year, doubling from the same period last year, official figures showed on Monday.

In the January-March period, the country’s revenues totaled 1.64 trillion liras ($53 billion), up around 130% year-on-year, the Treasury and Finance Ministry revealed.

Trkiye’s expenditures amounted to $2.15 trillion liras ($69.6 billion), increasing by 106% over the same period.

The country’s interest payments totaled 250.4 billion liras (8.1 billion), and non-interest budget balance saw a deficit of 263 billion liras.

During March, the country’s revenues and expenditures totaled 483.8 billion liras ($15.1 billion) and 692. 8 billion liras ($21.65 billion), respectively.

The budget balance posted a deficit of 208.96 billion liras ($6.55 billion) in March.

The US dollar Turkish lira exchange rate was at 30.92 on average during the January-March period, and 31.99 in March alone.

Source: Anadolu Agency

ANKARA: Trkiye’s benchmark stock index opened Monday at 9,759.28 points, decreasing 0.56%, or 54.91 points, from the previous close, after a break from the Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

On April 9, Borsa Istanbul’s BIST 100 index gained 0.59% to a fresh record closing high at 9,814.19 points.

The US dollar/Turkish lira exchange rate was 32.2865 as of 09.55 a.m. local time (0655GMT), the euro/lira exchange rate stood at 34.4275, while a British pound traded for 40.2671 liras.

Brent crude oil was selling for around $89.87 per barrel, while the price of an ounce of gold was $2,369.40.

Source: Anadolu Agency

JERUSALEM: A major steel trader in the occupied West Bank said goods coming to Palestine have to pass through Israeli customs and ports, and Trkiye cutting trade with Israel will affect the Palestinians.

Speaking to Anadolu, Mahmoud al-Wahar said he imports between 130,000 and 150,000 tons of steel from Trkiye on an annual basis, which has to pass through Israeli ports and customs as well.

While Turkish exports to Israel have decreased significantly, shipments of goods to the Palestinians continue.

Al-Wahar, one of the largest steel merchants in Palestine and also involved in various other businesses, said his group imports industrial materials, especially steel, from Trkiye and the trade volume is increasing every year.

He said the steel imported from Trkiye is mostly used in the West Bank market, adding: “We were also selling in Gaza, but we withdrew from the Gaza market a year ago.”

Turkish quality, standards

The trader said reasons for working with Turkish companies are high quality standards and re
asonable prices.

Trkiye is historically and traditionally very close to the Palestinians, Al-Wahar said, underlining the trust Palestinians have established with Trkiye.

He said there is brotherhood with Trkiye rather than only a commercial relationship. “The reason we work with Trkiye is quality and standard. Although not always, price too. We cannot find goods for such prices in Europe. There is trust between us and Turkish companies,’ he said.

Explaining that they have been working with Trkiye for 15 years, Al-Wahar said: “Whatever we import must comply with Israeli and Palestinian standards. Turkish manufacturers also work according to these standards.”

“It’s not just steel and cement. We also import industrial input materials such as plastic used in our factories,” he added.

‘Cutting trade between Trkiye and Israel means cutting off trade with Palestine’

The businessman argued that Palestinian businesses will be affected if trade between Israel and Trkiye is cut.

“This means cutting off trade betw
een Trkiye and Palestine, not only with Israel. Because we do not have ports or airports. When importing products from Trkiye, they come through Israel. There is no other way to bring the supplies. This will affect us, all Palestinians,” he said.

Al-Wahar said if trade between Israel and Trkiye is suspended, they will not be able to purchase any materials from Trkiye, and will have to look for other sources.

Talking about options such as Gulf countries, Europe, Egypt and China, Al-Wahar said Cairo does not meet the required standards and the products by others are costly.

“Who will start controlling the West Bank market in this situation? Israeli companies,’ he said, sharing that there are two steel companies in Israel. ‘They can easily control the Palestinian market. So, it will affect all parties.”

‘No other way’

Underlining that they have to trade with the entire world through Israel, Al-Wahar said: “There is no other way. For example, doing trade through Jordan is very costly. Transportation costs, f
light costs, everything is very high.”

He said before the start of Israeli war on Gaza last October, his factories worked in three shifts 24 hours a day. But have since been closed.

Pointing out that working with Trkiye means growth and development of the Palestinian people, Al-Wahar said: “We do not only work with Trkiye in the steel sector, we work with Trkiye in food and clothing sectors as well. All these products are needed.”

Al-Wahar said they import from Trkiye, not Israel, adding: “We are growing with Trkiye, we are developing day by day and year by year. We are expanding our business in all sectors.”

‘As Palestinians, we depend on Israel at border gates and ports’

Also speaking to Anadolu, Balawi Group of Companies manager Abid Al-Wahar said he has been doing business with the Turks since 2008 and is comfortable with the working relationship.

“As Palestinians, we are dependent on Israel at the border gates and ports. When we import from Trkiye, we pay the customs duty to Israel. They transfer t
he taxes they collect to the Palestinian administration. Therefore, if Trkiye cuts trade with Israel, it will not allow us to import from Trkiye. In this case, we will have to turn to Europe, Russia or China.”

He said the US and Israel wanted to establish a partnership with him, but he rejected it. “I told the Palestinian economy minister that I would only trade with the Turks. I do not trust anyone other than these people. I have been working with them for many years. They also trust me.”

“Turks make things easier when trading with the Palestinians than with the rest of the world. They treat the Palestinians more leniently,” he remarked.

Source: Anadolu Agency

ANKARA: Annual consumer inflation in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) area was stable at 5.7% in February thanks to a slowdown in food price hikes, according to data released on Monday.

Food inflation continued to ease for the 15th consecutive month to 5.3% in February, which was lower than the headline inflation for the first time since November 2021, the Paris-based organization said in a statement.

Energy prices declined by 0.5% year-on-year in February, after falling 2.5% in January.

Core inflation, excluding food and energy, continued to decrease but remained high at 6.4%, reflecting sticky service prices.

In the G20, annual inflation accelerated to 6.9% in February, reaching its highest level since March 2023, driven partly by a hike in headline inflation in China.

Source: Anadolu Agency

ANKARA: Oil prices on Monday fell almost 2% over easing supply concerns as tensions in the Middle East eased after Israel withdrew soldiers from parts of Gaza and indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas continued for a cease-fire in the Palestinian enclave.

International benchmark Brent crude traded at $91.91 per barrel at 1.30 p.m. local time (1030 GMT) on Friday, a 1.56% drop from the closing price of $89.74 per barrel in the previous trading session.

The American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) traded at $85.57 per barrel at the same time, a 1.54% decline from the previous session that closed at $86.91 per barrel.

Prices started the week on a declining trend over the increasing prospect of a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas after a delegation from the Palestinian group Hamas held discussions on Sunday with the head of Egyptian intelligence in Cairo on efforts to reach a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip and a hostage swap deal with Israel.?

“A delegation from the movement arrived in Cairo
and met with (Egyptian intelligence chief) Abbas Kamel,” Hamas said in a statement.?

“The delegation emphasized Hamas’s demands, its desire to reach an agreement that would achieve a complete cessation of hostilities, the withdrawal of occupation forces from the Gaza Strip, the free return of displaced people to their regions and places of residence, the relief of our people and the beginning of reconstruction of what was destroyed by the occupation,” it said.

Limiting further price declines, Saudi Arabia, recognized globally as the leading exporter of oil, announced an increase in the official selling prices (OSPs) for all its crude grades destined for Asia in May.

This decision comes at a time when the market is experiencing a tightening in the supply of heavy crude oil, aligning closely with market expectations.

Source: Anadolu Agency

ANKARA: Trkiye’s industrial output surged at the steepest pace in 2 years, by 11.5% year-on-year in February, according to official data released on Monday.

The figure was up from 1.3% in January, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) data showed.

Production posted an increase for mining and quarrying with 12.8%, manufacturing with 11.9%, and electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply with 7.7%.?

On a monthly basis, the output increased 3.2% in February 2024, the strongest growth since March 2023.?

The indices of mining and quarrying, manufacturing and electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning supply gained 3.2%, 3.8% and 0.3%, respectively from a month earlier.

Source: Anadolu Agency

ANKARA: Trkiye’s benchmark stock index opened Monday at 9,639.23 points, rising 0.21%, or 20.40 points, from the previous close.

On Friday, Borsa Istanbul’s BIST 100 index surged 5.37% to record closing high of 9,618.83 points with a daily transaction volume of 124 billion Turkish liras ($3.86 billion).

The US dollar/Turkish lira exchange rate was 32.0350 as of 10.01 a.m. local time (0701GMT), the euro/lira exchange rate stood at 34.7044, while a British pound traded for 40.4523 liras.

Brent crude oil was selling for around $89.59 per barrel, while the price of an ounce of gold was $2,353.55.

Source: Anadolu Agency