News
Thursday, July 17, 2025
What’s happening: Crude oil prices rose this morning, ending a three-session losing streak.
What happened: Strong economic reports from major oil consumers and prospects of easing trade concerns provided a boost to oil prices on Thursday.
US crude inventories contracted last week, supporting the upbeat demand forecast for oil.
Why it matters: The US Federal Reserve said that the latest data released signalled an improvement in activity, despite the forecast remaining neutral to slightly pessimistic amid tariff-related concerns.
Meanwhile, China’s economic growth eased less-than-projected in the second quarter, due to front-loading ahead of tariffs imposed by the US.
Data released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Wednesday showed US crude inventories declined by 3.9 million barrels to 422.2 million barrels in the latest week, exceeding market expectations of a contraction of 552,000 barrels, lending further support to oil prices.
However, higher-than-expected gasoline and diesel builds impeded the upward trajectory of oil prices. US gasoline stockpiles surged by 3.4 million barrels last week, while analysts were expecting a decline of 1 million barrels. Distillate stockpiles climbed by 4.2 million barrels, surpassing market estimates of 200,000 barrels. China’s crude throughput also surged 8.5% year-over-year in June.
Easing trade concerns between the US and China provided further support to oil prices. US President Donald Trump also signalled optimism over potential trade deals with India and Europe.
Some strength in the US dollar weighed on oil prices, as a higher greenback makes commodities more expensive for foreign currency holders. The US dollar index, which measures the greenback’s performance versus a basket of major peers, added 0.1% to reach 98.48 this morning.
WTI crude oil prices gained 0.8% to $66.92 a barrel this morning, while Brent crude rose 0.6% to $68.94 a barrel.
What to watch: Investors will continue monitoring tariff-related news from the US. On Monday, Trump announced plans to impose high tariffs on Russia if no agreement is reached to stop the ongoing war in Ukraine in 50 days.
The EIA’s report on natural gas stocks (1830 UAE Time) will also remain in focus. US natural gas inventories had surged 53 billion cubic feet in the week ending July 4.
Context: Shares of Goldman Sachs rose on Wednesday after the bank reported better-than-expected results for the second quarter.
Details: The US bank’s upbeat quarterly results were driven by strong gains in its global banking and trading divisions.
Most of Goldman Sachs’s revenues in the quarter were driven by equities trading, which generated $4.3 billion, representing 36% year-on-year growth and topped expectations. The performance was driven by both retail trading and institutional investors.
Despite the ongoing tariff concerns that pushed some firms to the sidelines, Goldman Sachs closed more advisory deals than expected due to higher acquisitions.
The bank’s net revenue jumped 15% year-over-year to $14.58 billion, exceeding consensus estimates of $13.36 billion.
GAAP earnings rose to $10.91 per share, from $8.62 per share in the year-ago period and also topped Wall Street expectations of $9.48 per share.
CEO David Solomon said, “At this time, the economy and markets are generally responding positively to the evolving policy environment. But as developments rarely unfold in a straight line, we remain very focused on risk management.”
How shares responded: Shares of Goldman Sachs rose by 0.9% to close at $708.82 on Wednesday following the release of quarterly results. The stock added around 13% over the past month.
What to watch: Investors will continue monitoring the overall trading environment amid ongoing tariff concerns.
Other Markets: European indices closed lower on Wednesday, with the FTSE 100, DAX 40, CAC 40 and STOXX Europe 600 Index down by 0.13%, 0.21%, 0.57% and 0.57%, respectively.
Russia said it is closely monitoring Western supply of weapons to Ukraine, after US President Donald Trump announced plans to resume arms deliveries to Kyiv. The news sent the RUB/USD pair lower in forex trading this morning.
Japan’s trade surplus shrank to ¥153.1 billion in June, from ¥221.3 billion in the year-ago period. The latest reading falling short of market estimates of ¥353.9 billion exerted pressure on the JPY/USD forex pair.
New Zealand’s annual food inflation accelerated to 4.6% in June, from 4.4% in the previous month. The region’s food inflation surging to the highest level since December 2024 sent the NZD/USD pair lower in forex trading this morning.
Canada’s housing starts climbed 3.6% to 253,081 units in June, down from 282,705 units in the previous month. The latest reading also fell short of market expectations of 259,000 units, which exerted pressure on the CAD/USD forex pair.
Singapore’s non-oil domestic exports climbed by 13% year-over-year in June, following a 3.9% decline in the previous month. However, the SGD/USD pair fell in forex trading this morning.
Spain’s 10-year Obligacion auction (1240 UAE Time), 23-year Obligacion auction (1240 UAE Time) and 5-year Bonos auction (1240 UAE Time), Eurozone’s inflation rate (1300 UAE Time), France’s 2028 OAT auction (1300 UAE Time), 2030 OAT auction (1300 UAE Time), 2031 OAT auction (1300 UAE Time), 2034 index-linked OAT auction (1400 UAE Time), 2038 index-linked OAT auction (1400 UAE Time) and 2039 OATi auction (1400 UAE Time), UK’s Treasury Gilt 2030 auction (1300 UAE Time), Canada’s CFIB business barometer (1500 UAE Time), foreign securities purchases (1630 UAE Time) and 2-year Bond auction (2000 UAE Time), South Africa’s building permits (1500 UAE Time), US retail sales (1630 UAE Time), export prices (1630 UAE Time), import prices (1630 UAE Time), initial jobless claims (1630 UAE Time), Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index (1630 UAE Time), continuing jobless claims (1630 UAE Time), Philly Fed business conditions (1630 UAE Time), Philly Fed employment (1630 UAE Time), Philly Fed new orders (1630 UAE Time), business inventories (1800 UAE Time), NAHB housing market index (1800 UAE Time), 4-week Bill auction (1930 UAE Time), 8-week Bill auction (1930 UAE Time), 15-year mortgage rate (2000 UAE Time) and 30-year mortgage rate (2000 UAE Time), as well as Argentina’s balance of trade (2300 UAE Time).