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News
Monday, December 22, 2025
What’s happening: Crude oil prices rose this morning amid heightened geopolitical concerns.
What happened: Crude prices began the month with a sharp decline, with both Brent and WTI prices declining by around 1% between December 5 and December 16.
The US continued its pressure campaign against Venezuela, which lent support to oil prices this morning.
Why it matters: The US Coast Guard intercepted and seized a second oil tanker near Venezuelan waters on Sunday, as part of a “blockade” ordered by President Donald Trump. The US continues to actively pursue a third vessel, with Washington having levied sanctions on Venezuela’s oil sector amid a large military buildup in the region.
Ukraine also announced an attack on Russia’s shadow fleet tanker with drones in the Mediterranean Sea, providing a further boost to oil prices. The latest event came amid ongoing efforts to end the war between Russia and Ukraine, after US special envoy Steve Witkoff described the talks among the officials of US, Europe and Ukraine as “productive and constructive.”
Data released last week showed US crude oil inventories declined by 1.274 million barrels in the week ended December 12, following a contraction of 1.812 million barrels in the previous week. The decline was more than market estimates of 1.1 million barrels.
Oil prices rose despite strength in the US dollar. The US dollar index, which measures the greenback’s performance versus a basket of major peers, edged higher to 98.64 this morning.
Spot WTI prices surged 0.87% to $57.01 a barrel this morning, while Brent crude rose 0.76% to $60.63 a barrel.
What to watch: Investors will keep an eye on the tensions between the US and Venezuela as well as between Russia and Ukraine.
Investors will continue monitoring major economic reports and the US dollar movement.
Context: The USD/CAD forex pair slipped this morning as investors digested the latest economic data from Canada.
Details: Data released on Friday showed Canada’s retail sales surged 1.2% in November, recording the steepest growth in five months. This followed a 0.2% decline in October.
New housing prices in Canada came in unchanged in November, after recording eight straight months of decline.
Higher prices of crude oil, one of Canada’s major exports, lent support to the loonie this morning.
Strength in the US dollar weighed on the Canadian currency. The US dollar index, which measures the greenback’s performance versus a basket of major peers, edged higher to 98.64.
The USD/CAD pair fell around 0.1% to 1.3797 this morning.
What to watch: Data on Canada’s PPI (1730 UAE Time) and raw materials prices (1730 UAE Time) will be released today. Canada’s industrial producer prices, which surged 1.5% in October to record the fifth straight month of growth, are expected to rise by 0.3% in November.
Analysts expect Canada’s raw materials price index to rise by 0.6% in November, following a 1.6% surge in October.
Other Markets: US trading indices closed higher on Friday, with the Dow Jones index, S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 up by 0.38%, 0.88% and 1.31%, respectively.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy blamed Russia for trying to block access to the Black Sea. The news sent the USD/RUB pair higher in forex trading this morning.
Argentina’s Consumer Confidence Index declined 1.1% to 45.5 in December. This being the first decline since September lent support to the USD/ARS forex pair.
The People’s Bank of China kept key lending rates unchanged for the seventh straight month in December, which sent the USD/CNY pair slightly higher in forex trading this morning.
Brazil’s current account deficit widened to $4.9 billion in November from $4.4 billion in the year-ago period, lending support to the USD/BRL forex pair.
Macau’s number of tourist arrivals jumped by 18.1% year-over-year to 3.345 million in November. This came in after a 10.8% gain in the previous month and sent the USD/MOP pair slightly lower in forex trading this morning.
Turkey’s tourist arrivals (1200 UAE Time), Italy’s PPI (1300 UAE Time), Spain’s balance of trade (1300 UAE Time), Brazil’s FGV consumer confidence (1500 UAE Time) and infrastructure output (1530 UAE Time), Mexico’s economic activity (1600 UAE Time), US Chicago Fed national activity index (1730 UAE Time), France’s 12-month BTF auction (1800 UAE Time) as well as Argentina’s economic activity (2300 UAE Time).
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