Flash News

TREE NEWS reports: The Federal Reserve’s overnight reverse repurchase agreement (RRP) facility absorbed $237 million on Wednesday, October 21, from 13 counterparties, up from $227 million in the prior session. The modest daily move leaves usage near the floor of recent levels as the facility continues to see minimal take-up.

TREE NEWS update: CME Group has shelved plans for a round-the-clock crude oil futures contract after commercial customers said they did not want to staff trading desks on weekends, CEO Terry Duffy said. The exchange scrapped the planned launch earlier this month after the CFTC blocked its application in July. Duffy warned that the absence of such markets is pushing participants toward illegal offshore trading venues.

TREE NEWS reports: The WTI Midland crude differential rose in European trading as buying interest returned after falling since late last week. Glencore bought a cargo of 21-25 November WTI Midland from Occidental at ICE Brent plus $10.65/bbl on a Rotterdam CIF basis, down from an earlier offer of plus $10.95/bbl. The deal, equivalent to about plus $6.60/bbl FOB, was the only trade reported.

TREE NEWS reports: SpaceX bonds weakened after the company, which reported earnings above analyst expectations, said it is investing aggressively, signaling potentially higher future borrowing. The risk premium on the aerospace and AI company’s credit derivatives widened earlier this week. As of 12:35 p.m. New York time, the spread on SpaceX’s 6.6% bonds maturing in 2046 had widened 0.09 percentage points to 264 basis points.

TREE NEWS reports: Shanghai nickel futures closed the night session up 2.93%, leading gains among base metals, while stainless steel rose 2.11% and Shanghai aluminum added 1.44%. Shanghai zinc gained 0.59%, Shanghai tin 0.11% and Shanghai lead 0.09%. Shanghai copper slipped 0.15%, international copper fell 0.18% and alumina dropped 1.48%, while aluminum alloy rose 1.17%.

TREE NEWS update: US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said negotiations involving Russia, the United States and Ukraine will continue at the technical level, adding that more work remains to be done. Witkoff made the remarks in comments on the Russia-Ukraine talks. He did not give a timeline or further details on the next round of discussions.

TREE NEWS reports: France’s 10-year government bond yield rose 8.1 basis points to 5.013% in late European trading on Wednesday, October 21, breaking through the 5% psychological threshold for the first time since 2002 and reaching 5.024% at 23:21 Beijing time. The two-year yield added 8.3 bps to 3.752%, while the 30-year rose 5.4 bps to 5.519%. Italian, Spanish and Greek 10-year yields also climbed.

TREE NEWS update: Gulf Keystone’s chief executive said Iraq’s Hamrin oil field holds approximately 7 billion barrels of oil in place, with recoverable reserves of 500 million to 1 billion barrels, or 10% to 15% of the total. The figures were disclosed as the company’s estimate of the field’s resource base.

TREE NEWS reports: LME copper fell $64 to $14,356 a tonne, weighed down by rising inventories, while nickel rose $572 to $16,234 a tonne. Aluminium gained $39 to $3,042, zinc added $30 to $3,755 and lead rose $16 to $1,910. Tin slipped $86 to $51,248 and cobalt was unchanged at $34,620.

TREE NEWS update: The United States, Russia and Ukraine have accepted a proposal to hold a technical-level meeting, the US said. The agreement covers the format of a technical meeting among the three parties. No date or venue for the talks was given in the statement. The proposal’s acceptance marks a step toward trilateral technical discussions.

TREE NEWS reports: ICE UK natural gas futures rose 2.12% to 213.800 pence per therm in late European trading on Wednesday, October 21, after touching 218.870 pence at 16:15 Beijing time, near the October 20 high of 222.600 pence. TTF Dutch benchmark gas futures gained 0.26% to 86.550 euros per megawatt-hour, having reached 88.987 euros at 16:16, close to the prior day’s high of 90.255 euros. ICE EU carbon allowance futures slipped 0.16%.

TREE NEWS reports: The MSCI Emerging Markets stock index is up 1% at present, while the developing-nation currency index has gained 0.2%. The moves reflect a firmer session across emerging-market equities and currencies.

TREE NEWS update: Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces continued drone strikes during the day against Ukrainian logistics centers, port facilities and vessels serving Ukraine’s armed forces. An Epicentr-K logistics hub used to store and distribute supplies for Ukrainian troops in Rivne was hit, the ministry said. A dry cargo ship carrying goods for Ukrainian forces was also attacked at sea while heading to a Black Sea port.

TREE NEWS update: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Djibouti’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Omar held talks in Beijing on Oct. 21 and issued a joint press communique on maintaining peace and stability in the Horn of Africa and the safety of shipping lanes in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. The two sides recalled 47 years of diplomatic ties and said they will continue firm mutual support on issues concerning each other’s core interests and major concerns, while expanding practical cooperation within the frameworks of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum.

TREE NEWS update: French President Emmanuel Macron said in Doha on the 21st that his government will use “all available legal means” to prevent a repeat of the riots that erupted during the 17th’s demonstrations, ahead of a new round of protests expected on the 24th. He said there is no need to declare a state of emergency and that the government will address protesters’ legitimate demands, especially those of young people, but that violence in any form is illegitimate.

TREE NEWS reports: Russia’s consumer price index rose 0.05% week-on-week in the week to Oct. 19, bringing the cumulative increase for 2026 to 6.15%. September producer prices rose 2.5% month-on-month and 8.6% year-on-year. The figures cover the country’s headline inflation and industrial price trends.

TREE NEWS update: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met Egypt’s Foreign Minister in Riyadh, Saudi state media reported. The meeting was confirmed by Saudi official media SPA. No further details of the discussions were disclosed.

TREE NEWS reports: The MSCI Nordic Countries Index rose 0.9% to 395.74 points, with the Nordic industrials sector posting the largest gain among the ten sectors. Transport and logistics services provider DSV A/S climbed 15.1%, leading all Nordic individual stocks.

TREE NEWS update: Chinese Premier Li Qiang met Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg on the afternoon of Oct. 21, China’s Xinhua News Agency reported. The meeting was held during Li’s visit to Russia. No further details of the talks were disclosed in the report.

TREE NEWS update: Japan Post Insurance plans to continue purchasing Japanese government bonds to replace maturing holdings, a spokesperson said. With interest rates having risen recently, the insurer now views all maturities along the yield curve as potential investment targets. The comments signal continued demand from a major domestic institutional buyer as JGB yields adjust to higher rates.