Category: Production

Türkiye’s benchmark stock index opened at 4,254.34 points on Monday, rising 0.89%, or 37.36 points, from the previous close.

On Friday, Borsa Istanbul’s BIST 100 index surged 2.72% to an all-time high close of 4,216.98 points with a trading volume of 92.9 billion liras ($5 billion).

The US dollar/Turkish lira exchange rate stood at 18.5981 as of 09.47 a.m. local time (0647GMT). The euro/lira parity was at 18.4958, while a British pound traded for 21.0725 Turkish liras.

Brent crude oil was selling for around $97.69 per barrel, while the price of an ounce of gold was at $1,674.60 at 0647GMT.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Global commodity markets rallied last week to overcome a sustained slump.

In the financial markets, it is predicted that the Fed will increase interest rates by 50 basis points with a 65% probability and 75 basis points with a 35% probability in December.

While Chicago Fed President Charles Evans stated that it would be beneficial for the Fed to end interest rate hikes by 75 basis points, Boston Fed President Susan Collins stated that a 50-basis point increase was also considered a fairly large rate hike.

Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin stated that interest rates may continue to rise for a longer period of time and the pace of tightening may slow down.

While the dollar index gave back most of its gains on Friday, ending the week with an increase of 0.1% at 110.8, commodity prices recorded a significant increase.

With these developments, gold increased by 2.2%, silver by 8.2% and platinum by 1.9% last week.?

Metals rise on news that China will abandon its “zero COVID-19” policy; copper gained 5.2%, lead 5.2%, aluminum 4% and nickel 7.1%.

Energy commodities were also dominated by sharp rises; Brent oil rose 4.3% and natural gas traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 13.6%.?

The rise in Brent oil prices was influenced by the easing of concerns about global oil demand.

The forecast for the decline in crude oil stocks of the US, the world’s largest oil producer and consumer, caused an increase in prices with the perception that the demand in the country has strengthened.

Analysts said that natural gas prices are rising due to the winter season and expectations that demand for natural gas will continue for a long time.

Agricultural commodities also saw rapid increases last week; wheat traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange rose 2.2%, soybeans 4.4% and rice 7.3%.?

Cotton gained 15.1%, coffee 0.4%, sugar 5.1% and cocoa 5.7%.

With the decrease in production estimates, an upward trend was observed in agricultural commodities, while wheat prices were also affected by geopolitical developments.

After Russia announced that it was suspending its participation in the Black Sea grain agreement, wheat rose 9% and then stabilized at around $8.4. The country later returned to the implementation of the deal.

Zafer Ergezen, a commodity markets expert, stated that the expectations that central banks will end interest rate hikes are effective in all markets.

The expectation that “the worst is over” with the Fed’s announcement of its interest rate decision was effective in purchases, Ergezen said, “Therefore, there was a retraction in the dollar index and a recovery in asset prices.”

Ergezen said that the recovery in oil prices increased corn prices.

Mentioning the rise in prices of rice, Ergezen noted that the decline in production began to be reflected in the prices, as rice exports increased.

*Writing by Gokhan Ergocun

Source: Anadolu Agency

Pakistan’s stock market on Monday jumped 318 points following expected $13 billion financial support from China and Saudi Arabia, local media reported.

The benchmark Karachi Stock Exchange-100 index gained 317.68 points, or 0.76%, to reach 42,173.99 points after opening, Daily Dawn reported.

The stock market rose after Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Friday said that Pakistan was assured of around $13 billion in additional financial support from China and Saudi Arabia as the South Asian country faced financial and political crises.

Dar said that Beijing and Riyadh have assured Islamabad of help to get out of the current financial crisis.

During a recent visit of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to Beijing, the Chinese leadership promised to roll over $4 billion in sovereign loans, refinance $3.3 billion commercial bank loans and increase currency swap by about $1.45 billion — from 30 billion yuan ($4.2 billion) to 40 billion yuan ($5.6 billion). The total worked out at $8.75 billion, Dawn quoted Dar as saying.

Last week, Sharif along with a high-level delegation visited China and met with President Xi Jinping.

“China would continue to extend its support to Pakistan for sustainable economic development and to harness its potential as the geo-economic hub,” Xi was quoted in a statement issued from Prime Minister’s Office in the capital Islamabad.

Beijing also agreed to process a $9.8 billion high-speed rail project (Main Line-1) from Karachi to Peshawar.

The Chinese and Saudi assistance will be crucial for Pakistan, which is currently struggling to cope with massive financial and human losses caused by a devastating spell of rains and floods.

In September, Islamabad also received $1.16 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under its bailout package.

IMF released the funds after Islamabad agreed to fulfill some key IMF demands, including the withdrawal of subsidies on electricity and petroleum, despite public outcry.

In 2019, the IMF agreed on a $6 billion bailout package to prop up the country’s sputtering economy.

According to the Pakistani finance minister, they are also in negotiation with Saudi Arabia for $4.2 billion.

“Saudi Arabia had also agreed to revive the $10-12bn petrochemical refining project at Gwadar,” the daily quoted Dar as saying.

On Sunday, Dar also met with Pakistan’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Ameer Khurram Rathore to finalize negotiations with the Kingdom.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Real household income per capita went down by 0.5% in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) area in the second quarter, as rising inflation continued to undermine growth in household income.

The figure fell in most OECD countries and in all G7 economies except Germany, according to a statement by the Paris-based global body on Monday.

Real household income per capita fell by 1.2% in France, 1.1% in Canada and the UK, and 0.4% in the US.

“Q2 2022 was the fourth consecutive quarter of falling real income for households in the UK and the fifth consecutive quarter for households in the US,” the statement said.

“The declines over this longer period reflect both the reduction in pandemic-related government assistance and rising consumer prices faced by households,” it added.

Compared to the fourth quarter of 2019, growth in real GDP per capita for the OECD (2.3%) is now slightly ahead of growth in real household income per capita (2%).

Source: Anadolu Agency

Kazakhstan aims to increase oil exports via the Caspian Sea to 20 million tons annually, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said during a speech at the port city of Aktau, the capital of the southwestern Mangystau region.

“We need to activate all the available capacities of the Aktau and Kurik ports in order to increase the oil transport volume (on this route) to 20 million tons per year,” Tokayev said during his speech, adding that the development of the Trans-Caspian International Route is of “particular importance.”

Tokayev further noted that the city of Aktau and the role of the Caspian Sea has increased dramatically due to changes in global logistics chains, further calling the city “the sea gate of Kazakhstan.”

“We plan to implement a number of measures aimed at attracting investments in the development of port infrastructure, the creation of containers and transport and logistics hubs,” Tokayev added.

He also said one of the successful examples of investment cooperation between Kazakhstan and foreign countries is the project to create a center for the production of green hydrogen.

“Last week, during the official visit of President of the European Council Charles Michel, Kazakhstan and a German-Swedish company signed a corresponding investment agreement. The investor plans to organize the production of green hydrogen in the Mangystau region. A desalination plant with a capacity of 255,000 cubic meters per day, and a 40-gigawatt renewable energy station is also planned to be built,” he noted.

The Trans-Caspian International Route, also called the Middle Corridor, is a network of railways and roads that start in Türkiye and covers Georgia, Azerbaijan, the Caspian Sea, and Central Asia, and reaches China, making it an important effort to revive the ancient Silk Road.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed bilateral relations and cooperation, especially in the energy sector, with his Uzbek counterpart Shavkat Mirziyoyev over the phone on Wednesday.

“The presidents reaffirmed mutual commitment to strengthening Russia-Uzbekistan relations of alliance and strategic partnership, boosting trade, and expanding mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields, including in energy,” read a statement by the Kremlin.

It said Mirziyoyev expressed his gratitude for Putin’s hospitality during the informal meeting of the heads of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) member states in St. Petersburg on Dec. 26-27.

Also, a statement by the Uzbek presidency said the issues related to further deepening ties between Tashkent and Moscow were discussed by Mirziyoyev and Putin.

“Particular attention was paid to the expansion of mutually beneficial cooperation in the oil and gas sector,” the statement said, adding that Mirziyoyev highly appreciated the fruitful results of the informal CIS summit.

The CIS is a regional organization formed after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 by its former members to encourage cooperation in economic, political and security affairs.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Oil prices declined on Tuesday due to looming demand fears after China reaffirmed the continuation of its strict pandemic policy.

International benchmark Brent crude traded at $97.82 per barrel at 10.01 a.m. local time (0701 GMT) for a 0.10% decrease from the closing price of $97.92 a barrel in the previous trading session.

The American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) traded at $91.60 per barrel at the same time, a 0.21% loss after the previous session closed at $91.79 a barrel.

China reaffirmed its unwavering adherence to its long-standing “zero-Covid” policy amid fears of falling oil demand, bolstering bearish market sentiment.

China’s strict pandemic policies “are completely correct, and the most economical and effective,” said Hu Xiang, a disease control official, on Monday.

However, according to official customs data, China’s imports of crude oil increased in October for the first year-on-year growth since May, to 43.14 million tons.

Meanwhile, OPEC producers have started cutting their collective output by 2 million barrels per day (bpd) in accordance with their recent decision, adding to supply concerns.

The looming sanctions deadline on Russian oil exports to Europe, which takes effect on Dec. 5, is also weighing on the market.

Source: Anadolu Agency