Flash News

TREE NEWS reports: The dollar rose 0.02% against the yen to 158.02 in New York late trade on Friday, October 16, ending the week down 0.18% with a trading range of 158.95 to 157.55. The euro gained 0.12% for the week to 177.56 yen and sterling rose 0.54% to 210.553 yen, while the yen added 0.11% against the offshore yuan to 4.2319.

TREE NEWS update: Kenya’s Ministry of Health confirmed a third case of Bundibugyo ebolavirus on 16 August, bringing the country’s total confirmed cases to three. The patient, a 65-year-old woman, is a close relative and contact of the first two patients and had been under isolation since 6 August before testing positive. She developed fever, sore throat and general malaise during observation.

TREE NEWS reports: The ICE US Dollar Index fell 0.16% to 101.839 in late New York trading on Friday, October 16, after touching 102.945 on October 14, its highest since April 2025, and retreating over the following two sessions. The index lost 0.37% for the week, trading between 102.945 and 101.576. The Bloomberg Dollar Index also dropped 0.16% to 1222.54, down 0.28% on the week.

TREE NEWS reports: Morgan Stanley said new data center capacity added by hyperscalers and neoclouds will surge 48% year over year to 32 gigawatts in 2027. Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Meta account for roughly 85% of the new buildout. A further 39 gigawatts is expected in 2028, a 21% year-over-year expansion.

TREE NEWS update: US President Donald Trump said on Monday he is “in no rush” to appoint a new White House press secretary. Trump did not provide a list of candidates to succeed the outgoing press secretary. The remarks leave the timing of the announcement open, with no successor named so far.

TREE NEWS update: A large explosion was heard in Aden, Yemen, on the evening of the 16th local time, in what is suspected to be a missile attack by Houthi forces. No casualty figures or further details were immediately available.

TREE NEWS reports: The onshore yuan closed at 6.6870 per US dollar at 03:00 Beijing time, up 44 pips from Thursday’s overnight session close. Trading volume for the session reached $33.901 billion. The move marks a modest strengthening of the Chinese currency against the dollar.

TREE NEWS reports: The Hang Seng Index futures night session closed down 0.19% at 24,112 points. The Hang Seng Tech Index futures night session closed down 0.66% at 4,077 points.

TREE NEWS reports: Brent crude oil futures rose to $110 a barrel, the first time since May 20. West Texas Intermediate gained 3.5% on the day to trade at $101.41 a barrel. The move marks a renewed climb in crude prices.

TREE NEWS reports: WTI November crude futures closed $3.44 higher at $101.41 a barrel, a gain of 3.51%, bringing the week’s advance to nearly 10.41%. NYMEX November natural gas settled at $3.1160 per million British thermal units, while November gasoline closed at $3.2354 a gallon and November heating oil at $4.8991 a gallon.

TREE NEWS reports: The December 2026 crude oil futures contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) closed the night session up 2.32% at 739.80 yuan per barrel. In the same session, Shanghai gold futures edged down 0.02%, while Shanghai silver futures fell 0.39%.

TREE NEWS update: The United States said it helped move more than 100 million barrels of oil through the Strait of Hormuz over the past seven days. The figure covers the seven-day period just ended. The Strait of Hormuz is the world’s most important oil chokepoint.

TREE NEWS reports: The US Treasury reported a fiscal 2026 budget deficit of $1.992 trillion, up from $1.775 trillion in fiscal 2025. Total debt interest costs hit a record $1.36 trillion, up $144 billion or 12% year over year. Net tariff revenue fell to $173.22 billion from $194.87 billion, and September’s deficit was $27 billion versus a $198 billion surplus a year earlier.

TREE NEWS reports: Rheinmetall AG has taken a minority stake in lithium company Rock Tech Lithium Inc. and its German refinery, people familiar with the matter said. The defense group is the anonymous investor behind the German-Canadian lithium developer’s recent capital increase and is a strategic co-investor in Rock Tech’s planned lithium conversion plant in Guben, Germany. Earlier in October, Rock Tech announced a C$6 million (about US$4.2 million) private placement including a new strategic investor.

TREE NEWS reports: Speculative net long positions in ICE Brent crude rose by 31,977 contracts to 233,029 in the week to October 13, a four-week high, the Intercontinental Exchange reported. Net longs in white sugar also climbed to a four-week high of 60,755 contracts, while net shorts in London cocoa fell to a four-week low of 4,088 contracts.

TREE NEWS reports: Peru’s Ministry of Energy and Mines reported that the country’s copper production fell 5.0% year-on-year in August, to 230,676 metric tonnes. Peru is one of the world’s largest copper producers, and the monthly figure is a key gauge of global supply from the Andean producer.

TREE NEWS update: President Donald Trump said on October 16 that the White House press secretary role may not suit Karoline Leavitt, adding he would speak with her and has told her to reconsider the position. A White House official said Leavitt is preparing to step down as Trump’s press secretary.

TREE NEWS update: An oil tanker, the MT ST 3, carrying 15 Indian seafarers was struck by a shell in the Strait of Hormuz on October 16, India’s shipping minister said. A separate incident on October 14 involved the tanker Yara J, which has nine crew members and was attacked by a drone at the Sulina anchorage in Romania.

TREE NEWS update: Canada’s industry minister said Ottawa is exploring all options under the Investment Canada Act as it considers nationalizing steelmaker Stelco. The minister gave no further detail on the timing or mechanism of any move. The statement puts a possible state takeover of the Canadian steel producer on the table.

TREE NEWS update: Iran has offered to help resolve the conflict between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Houthi forces, according to a statement of its willingness to assist in settling the dispute. No further details on the scope, format or timing of any mediation were given. The offer marks a stated Iranian readiness to engage on the Saudi-Houthi file.