Category: Market

ANKARA: Oil prices rose on Tuesday amid unresolved tensions in the Middle East and better-than-expected economic data from China, the world’s largest oil importer.

International benchmark Brent crude traded at $90.50 per barrel at 10.45 a.m. local time (0845 GMT), an 0.44% increase from the closing price of $90.10 per barrel in the previous trading session.

The American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) traded at $85.56 per barrel at the same time, a 0.17% rise from the previous session that closed at $85.41 per barrel.

Early on Monday, Israeli Army Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said Israel would respond to the weekend’s Iranian attack, which was launched in response to the April 1 attack on the Iranian Consulate in Damascus, Syria, killing at least 13 people, including seven military advisers.

Following the statement, Iran’s deputy foreign minister for political affairs issued a stern warning, saying that any fresh military action by Israel against his country would see a response “within seconds.”

The ongoing conflict in the Middle East, where the majority of global oil reserves are located, continues to put upward pressure on oil prices, triggering fears of possible supply disruptions in the region.

Meanwhile, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Tuesday that China’s economy grew above expectations by 5.3% in the first quarter of the year, despite the ongoing decline in the real estate market and weakening domestic demand.

Strong economic data from China further supported upward price movements by indicating strong oil demand in the country.

However, uncertainty over the timing of the US Federal Reserve’s (Fed) interest rate limits upward price trends.

Analysts are certain that the Fed will leave the policy rate unchanged in May, while the probability of the bank starting a rate cut fell to 20% in June and 40% in July. The probability of the Fed’s first rate cut in September stands at 72%.

‘We will need to start a process at some point to bring interest rates back to more normal levels, a
nd my own view is that process will likely start this year,’ New York Fed President John Williams said Monday.

Williams added that he did not see the latest inflation data as a “turning point” but noted that the figures will affect his own views and forecasts.

The possibility of a rate cut suppressed oil prices, as generally high interest rates boost the value of the US dollar, making oil more expensive for holders of other currencies.

Source: Anadolu Agency

ISTANBUL: The international trade balance of the euro area posted a surplus of pound 23.6 billion ($25 billion) in February, expanding 18% year-on-year, Eurostat said on Tuesday.

Eurozone goods exports totaled pound 235 billion in the month, up 0.3%, while imports stood at pound 211.4 billion, down 8.4%, the 27-member bloc’s statistical authority said.

The US was the main destination for eurozone exports in February with pound 42.3 billion, while China was the main import partner with pound 37.5 billion.

Trkiye was also among the eurozone’s top 5 trading partners with exports of pound 7.8 billion and imports of pound 9.9 billion to and from the zone.

During the first two months of 2024, the euro area saw a surplus of pound 35.2 billion, compared with minus pound 28.4 billion in January-February 2023.

In January and February, euro area exports of goods to the rest of the world rose to pound 460.7 billion, up by 0.6%, and imports fell to pound 425.5 billion, down 12.5%.

Intra-euro area trade fell to pound
428.9 billion in January-February 2024, down 6.2%, compared with January-February 2023.

The eurozone/euro area, or EA19, represents member states that use the single currency – the euro – while the EU27 includes all member countries of the bloc.

Source: Anadolu Agency

ISTANBUL: The total turnover index in the Turkish economy, including industry, construction, trade, and services sectors, went up by 85.1% in February versus the same month last year.

The Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) data showed that the construction sub-index posted an increase of 104% over the same period.

It was followed by services with 103.8%, trade with 83.7%, and industry with 77.3%.

On a monthly basis, the total turnover index increased by 6.3% in February.

Source: Anadolu Agency

ISTANBUL: The Chinese economy has expanded by 5.3% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2024, official figures from National Bureau of Statistics of China showed on Tuesday.

The country’s gross domestic product was at 29.6 trillion yuan ($4 trillion) in the January-March period, the bureau stated.

Quarter-on-quarter, the Chinese economy has also expanded by 1.6% in the January-March period.

The total added value of industrial enterprises grew by 6.1% year-on-year in the three-month period.

In the first quarter, the value of services went up by 5% versus the same period last year.

The total value of imports and exports of goods was 10.16 trillion yuan ($1.4 trillion), raising by 5% year on year.

Source: Anadolu Agency

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

ISTANBUL: Canada’s manufacturing sales rose 0.7% to $71.6 billion in February, according to figures released Monday by the country’s statistical agency.

The figure came in line with market estimates, after seeing a 0.2% increase in January.

The rise in February was led by electrical equipment, appliance, and component products with 12.6%, the highest on record, and higher sales of petroleum and coal, up 4.3%.

“In February, prices of refined petroleum energy products increased 5.9%, partially due to higher prices of conventional crude oil, the key input for refined petroleum products,” Statistics Canada said in a statement.

“Despite the monthly increase, sales of petroleum and coal products decreased 1.5% on a yearly basis in February,” it added.

Source: Anadolu Agency