Flash News

TREE NEWS reports: The Bloomberg Grains Subindex closed down 0.28% at 32.3755 in New York on Tuesday, October 13, after touching a session low of 32.1528 and a high of 32.7386 at 23:04 Beijing time before turning lower. CBOT corn slipped 0.05%, wheat 0.50% and soybeans 0.30%, while soybean meal fell 1.44% and soyoil 0.95%. Lean hogs dropped 0.59%, live cattle 0.11% and feeder cattle 0.09%.

TREE NEWS reports: European Central Bank chief economist Philip Lane said the possibility that artificial intelligence replaces part of the workforce could weaken workers’ bargaining power and thereby slow wage growth. The remark points to AI’s potential disinflationary effect on the euro area labor market.

TREE NEWS update: US President Donald Trump said on social media on the 13th that Yemen’s Houthis are deliberately driving up oil prices ahead of the US midterm elections. Trump said the Houthis are hitting Saudi Arabia with “very nasty” means and likely intend to raise oil prices before the US vote. Earlier that day, before leaving the White House for Alaska, he said he had spoken with Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed, but declined to say whether he had decided to join Saudi operations against the Houthis. He added that a decision on Iran would be made soon.

TREE NEWS update: Hezbollah announced a housing assistance program on the 13th that will provide up to $14,000 per household to families affected by Israeli strikes, covering rent payments and furniture purchases. The Lebanese group said the aid is intended for those whose homes were damaged or destroyed in the attacks.

TREE NEWS reports: WTI November crude futures settled up $0.40, or 0.43%, at $94.14 a barrel on a fourth consecutive session of gains, a cumulative rise of nearly 6.64% from the October 7 close of $88.28 and nearing the September 24 settlement of $94.61. Middle East Abu Dhabi Murban crude fell 1.91% to $110.10 a barrel. NYMEX November natural gas settled at $3.2830 per million British thermal units.

TREE NEWS reports: Shanghai Futures Exchange crude oil futures for the 2611 contract closed the night session unchanged at 753.30 yuan per barrel. In precious metals, Shanghai gold fell 0.33% in night trading and Shanghai silver dropped 1.51%.

TREE NEWS update: Tencent Holdings is raising $5.7 billion through yuan- and dollar-denominated bonds to fund its growing artificial intelligence investments. The tech and gaming giant priced 26 billion yuan ($3.88 billion) of offshore notes and has opened an $1.8 billion dollar bond offering. It is Tencent’s largest offshore bond issuance since 2020, following a $4.7 billion sale in June.

TREE NEWS reports: Guyana is considering a compressed liquefied natural gas (LNG) project. No further details on the project’s scope, timetable or participants were provided in the material.

TREE NEWS update: A tanker that had switched off its tracking system and was attempting to cross a controlled zone caught fire and was damaged in the eastern Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday afternoon, Iran’s navy said. The vessel was spotted by an Iranian naval monitoring unit. No further details on the ship’s identity, flag, cargo or casualties were given.

TREE NEWS update: Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on October 13 that a Japanese journalist detained in Russia on suspicion of espionage will further cloud Russia-Japan relations. Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow again calls on Japanese authorities to come to their senses, change course and abandon hostile actions against Russia.

TREE NEWS update: The Saudi-led multinational coalition said on October 13 it carried out a targeted military operation to degrade resources and capabilities the Houthis use to support their military activities. Coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki said the coalition has evidence the Houthis use civilian facilities and key resources for military purposes, including a central maintenance depot in Sanaa, underground fuel storage sites, and fuel storage, transport and unloading facilities in Hodeidah, Sanaa and Zamal.

TREE NEWS reports: The US 10-year Treasury yield fell sharply from around 5.22% to 5.2063% after New York Fed President John Williams said no rate hikes would be needed in 2027, with the intraday decline widening; it earlier touched a session low of 5.1706%. The 2-year yield dropped from near 4.805% to below 4.78%, turning lower again. The dollar index extended losses to 0.36% at 102.17, while the S&P 500 quickly pared its decline.

TREE NEWS reports: Explosions were heard in the eastern Saudi Arabian city of Dammam on the evening of the 13th. No further details on the cause, location or any casualties were immediately available.

TREE NEWS update: New York Fed President John Williams said the FOMC likely will not need to raise interest rates in 2027, but one more hike in 2026 would be appropriate. Williams voiced firm support for a September hike, saying the case begins with risk management. He said there are no signs the labor market is driving inflation, and that beyond AI and energy he sees no broad price pressures.

TREE NEWS reports: NYMEX natural gas futures rose more than 4.00% and were quoted at $3.294 per million British thermal units. The move marks a sharp intraday gain for the front-month contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

TREE NEWS reports: Germany’s economy ministry is advancing a plan to finance a proposed emergency natural gas reserve through a dedicated levy on consumers. The measure would shift the cost of building the buffer stockpile onto gas users.

TREE NEWS update: The Federal Reserve published the minutes of its Board’s discount rate meetings held on August 17, September 9 and September 16, 2026. The document records the Board’s discussions on the discount rate over those three sessions. No further details were disclosed in the released material.

TREE NEWS update: The Saudi-led coalition said Yemen’s Houthi forces are using critical civilian resources to support their military operations and threaten international shipping. The coalition said it has taken necessary precautions to avoid civilian casualties or collateral damage in its operations, and will carry out a precise military operation targeting key facilities that provide vital support to what it called the Houthi terrorist war machine.

TREE NEWS reports: Spot gold fell below the $4,150 per ounce mark, quoted at $4,149.8 per ounce. Spot silver dropped 2.0% on the day to $59.11 per ounce, while New York silver also fell 2.0% to $59.29 per ounce.

TREE NEWS update: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on the 13th in a video address that Ukrainian and US working teams have continued talks on the peace process for the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Ukraine has submitted a new round of meeting and consultation proposals to the US side, proposing talks within the coming days, and the suggestions have been delivered to relevant US representatives.