globaleconomicnews

Fitch Ratings has lowered its global economic growth outlook while raising its oil price forecast, warning that the oil shock from the conflict between the US and Iran is causing widespread damage to the global economy.
Now the agency expects global economic growth to hit 2.4% this year, trimming the previous estimate by 0.2 percentage points. "Forecasts have been revised down across the board as inflation growth is squeezing real wages, stifling consumption, and ramping up costs for companies," says the report from Fitch economists.

Australia's trade surplus bounced back sharply in April, fueled by a rise in exports of iron ore, minerals, and coal, which offset a modest increase in imports driven by higher fuel purchases, according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics released on Thursday.

Gold futures took a dip during U.S. trading on Wednesday.
On COMEX, part of the New York Mercantile Exchange, August gold futures are trading at $4,474.70 per troy ounce, having dropped by 1.00% at the time of this comment.

Payment giants Visa, Mastercard, and Stripe are close to launching a new platform for stablecoins, CoinDesk reports from three sources familiar with the companies' plans. One insider mentioned that crypto exchange Coinbase is also considering participation.
The details of the platform are still under wraps, and the companies have declined to comment. However, it's known that their interest in stablecoins has been growing for several years now.

The Reserve Bank of India stated that the report of them selling gold 'is not accurate,' pointing to data that shows their physical gold reserve has remained unchanged. This is reported by Bloomberg.
The latest digits in the monthly bulletin from the Reserve Bank of India show that the physical gold stash has held steady at 880.52 metric tons throughout April. The reserve has remained at this level 'as of the current date,' according to a statement from the central bank on Wednesday.

BP stocks surged on Wednesday after The Financial Times reported that the FTSE 100 energy group was in advanced talks to offload its assets in the UK North Sea to Ithaca Energy in a deal worth around £2 billion, which fell through in recent weeks. Meanwhile, BP is still exploring the possibility of selling and may strike a deal with other firms, according to sources familiar with the process.

Copper has continued to dip along with other industrial metals after the US launched new strikes in the Persian Gulf, amidst stalled negotiations to wrap up the war with Iran. This is reported by Bloomberg.
In recent weeks, base metals have been trading in a tight range: investors are keeping an eye on the talks to end the conflict, which has fueled inflation and worsened global economic growth prospects.

Hong Kong has, for the first time in history, surpassed Switzerland to become the largest global hub for managing and placing overseas assets. This trend is unlikely to change anytime soon, as Asian financial hubs are growing faster than their European counterparts, according to a report by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

The recent summit between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping has sparked renewed discussions on a familiar topic: Will America defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion? This is analyzed in a piece for Project Syndicate by Channing Li, Director of Global Partnerships and host of the Strait Forward podcast at the Special Competitive Studies Project.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in India on Saturday with an official diplomatic mission aimed at revitalizing bilateral relations that have been complicated by trade tariffs and changes in Washington's foreign policy in the region, according to Reuters.
This four-day visit will be Rubio's first trip to this South Asian country and includes stops in New Delhi, Kolkata, Agra, and Jaipur. The State Department confirmed that high-level talks will focus on trade mechanisms, bilateral energy cooperation, and defense issues.

Fitch Ratings confirmed Belgium's long-term issuer default rating at A+ with a stable outlook on Friday, citing the country's diversified and wealthy economy, high per capita income, and membership in the Eurozone. The ratings agency noted that governance quality metrics remain significantly above the median for A-rated countries, although the very high and rising national debt complicates efforts for budget consolidation.

The IMF has downgraded its growth forecast for the French economy this year, as the shockwaves from the war in Iran are hitting business activity, while uncertainty ahead of next year's presidential elections continues to ramp up. Bloomberg reports on this.
According to the IMF's estimates, France's GDP is expected to grow by 0.7% in 2026, which is lower than the 0.9% projection the fund made just a month ago. The organization noted that short-term risks for this forecast are skewed towards the downside.

China's semiconductor equipment imports dipped by 3% year-on-year to $3.8 billion in April 2026, according to customs data analyzed by Bank of America.
April's figures were 16% lower than March's, and the cumulative imports since the start of the year showed a 12% drop in 2026. The import volume exceeded the average of the previous three months at $3.5 billion, but still fell short of the 12-month average of $4.5 billion.

German chemical giant BASF announced on Wednesday that by 2029 it will cut net fixed cash costs in its core business areas by 20% as part of a massive optimization program.
CEO Markus Kamit stated in an interview with Handelsblatt that this initiative will likely lead to job cuts. He described it as one of the largest optimization programs in BASF's history, calling it the company's new operating system that will result in a new core business profile with fewer employees.

Negotiators from the European Parliament and the EU Council reached a preliminary agreement on Wednesday morning, May 20, to scrap EU tariffs on imports of all industrial goods from the U.S., as well as to grant preferential access to certain types of American seafood and agricultural products in European markets. This was reported in a press release on the EU Council's website.

The chemical industry in Germany is one of the key sectors of the national economy, ranking third in importance after automotive and machinery. It generates hundreds of billions of euros in annual revenue and employs around half a million people.
However, in recent years, the sector has been hit by a crisis. This is due to high energy costs, increasingly strict regulations, a prolonged economic downturn, and tough competition from abroad.

ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. reported a net loss of $86 million for Q1 ending March 31, 2026, compared to a net profit of $296 million for the same period last year.
Revenue for the three months ending March 31, 2026, dropped to $1.40 billion from $2.01 billion a year earlier.
The volume of shipments decreased to 866,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) from 944,000 TEU in Q1 2025. The average freight rate per TEU fell to $1,310 from $1,776 a year ago.

The participation of German entrepreneurs in the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) has sparked criticism from parties in the ruling coalition in Germany - the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). "German companies that are cozying up to a war criminal in St. Petersburg are undermining our national security interests and damaging Germany's international reputation," stated CDU foreign policy expert Roderich Kiesewetter in an interview with Handelsblatt, published on Wednesday, June 3.

The silver surge in 2025 created conditions for a demand wreck among metal buyers, analysts believe. The broad range of industrial applications makes silver more sensitive to the economic cycle than gold: the metal is essential in the production of computers, solar panels, and cars. CNBC reports on this.

The national railway operator of Kazakhstan, "Kazakhstan Temir Zholy" (KTZ), is eyeing a potential listing of its shares in London or Hong Kong later this year. They're ramping up their tracks and infrastructure to meet the soaring demand for freight transport between China and Europe. This is reported by Bloomberg, citing a statement from the company’s chairman, Talgat Aldybergenov.