The latest Market Talks covering Energy markets. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.
0741 GMT - Oil prices remain broadly unchanged as markets await the outcome of Iran-Oman talks to restore shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. In early European trading, Brent crude is up 0.2% at $83.75 a barrel, while WTI futures rise 0.1% to $78.27 a barrel. "The risk of renewed Middle East escalation remains elevated, but the muted price response highlights competing headwinds from weak Chinese demand and the release of emergency reserves," Saxo Bank analysts say. Iran, however, said it wouldn't reopen the strait without concessions from the U.S., including a waiver of sanctions on its oil exports and freeing billions of dollars of blocked Iranian funds. Meanwhile, risks in the region remain high. The U.A.E. accused Iran of launching a missile attack on one of its ships, while Saudi Arabia said it extinguished a fire that broke out on Sunday at its Jazan refinery. (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)
0723 GMT - Yields on U.K. government bonds climb due to elevated oil prices and inflation concerns as the U.S.-Iran conflict persists. Over the weekend, Iran issued new demands from the U.S. including compensation for war damage, in order to reach a peace deal. The new demands complicate the peace negotiations, potentially delaying an end to the conflict. Investors await this week's U.S. inflation data and the quarterly U.K. GDP estimate for the second quarter to gain insights on the state of the two economies. Ten-year gilt yields climb 0.4 basis points to 4.924%, Tradeweb data show. (miriam.mukuru@wsj.com)
0700 GMT - Bitcoin remains stronger in the wake of Friday's weaker-than-expected U.S. nonfarm payrolls data dampening expectations for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates. Payrolls unexpectedly dropped 23,000 in July, prompting markets to scale back bets for a near-term rate rise. "We are keeping our view of no hikes from the Fed for this year," Jefferies economist Mohit Kumar says in a note. Key will be Wednesday's U.S. inflation data, he says. Inflation should be contained enough to prevent the Fed from raising rates in September, by which point there should also be some resolution to the Middle East conflict, he says. Bitcoin rises 0.2% to $65,206 after reaching a two-week high of $65,393 overnight, LSEG data show. (renae.dyer@wsj.com)
0643 GMT - The dollar recovers slightly after reaching a seven-week low Friday following an unexpected decline in U.S. nonfarm payrolls. Payrolls fell 23,000 in July, although the unemployment rate dropped to 4.1%. The softer jobs data reduce the urgency for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates in the near term. However, with labor market slack only gradually increasing, focus now turns to Wednesday's U.S. inflation data, Deutsche Bank analysts say in a note. Meanwhile, a top Iranian official laid out tough demands for opening the Strait of Hormuz, and the United Arab Emirates said Iran launched a missile attack on one of its ships. The DXY dollar index rises 0.1% to 99.675 after reaching as low as 99.403 Friday. (renae.dyer@wsj.com)
0611 GMT - Global oil inventory buffers are continuing to erode, says Daniel Hynes, senior commodity strategist at ANZ. Product inventories continue to fall sharply, led by gasoline and middle distillates, he says. Further inventory declines are evident across Asia, the Middle East and Singapore. Floating storage is also declining, with crude oil held on laden vessels falling further as restricted transits in the Strait of Hormuz limit replenishment opportunities. Hynes says. At the same time, government stockpile support is becoming increasingly limited. U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve drawdowns have slowed as facilities approach operational minimum levels, while total SPR holdings have fallen to record lows, he adds. (james.glynn@wsj.com; X @JamesGlynnWSJ)
0550 GMT - Recruit Holdings is likely seeing signs of progress with products for large companies, Nomura's Jiyong Oum says in a research report. Management said that there has been marked growth in sales to major customers and that this would be a major source of medium-term earnings growth, the analyst notes. Management also said orders have been rising in area of automation of hiring processes with usage of artificial intelligence. Nomura lifts its sales forecasts for the Japanese technology company by 5.0% for this fiscal year, 5.4% for next fiscal year, and 5.6% for FY ending March 2029. It raises the stock's target price to 18,500 yen from 16,000 yen with unchanged buy rating. Shares are 23% higher at 16,165 yen. (ronnie.harui@wsj.com)
0508 GMT - China's consumer-price index is likely to remain weak in the near term, according to BofA Securities. The headline CPI came in weaker than expected in July, with inflation moderating to 0.5% on year, it notes. That came in the wake of softer gains in gasoline prices, it adds. "Going forward, with the persistent weak domestic demand, and the fading of gold price base effect, we may see continued pressures in core CPI inflation as well as PPI inflation for consumer goods," BofA Securities writes in a research note.
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