Global Economy News and Headlines
Global Economy News and Headlines
Global Economy Pulse
EMAIL DIGESTS
Daily
Every morning
Weekly
Tuesday recap
EMAIL DIGESTS
Daily
Every morning
Weekly
Tuesday recap
The Thai government is using the state‑run Oil Fuel Fund to subsidise diesel and gasoline as global oil prices climb, spending over one billion baht a day on the program. Losses are projected to hit ten billion baht by March 18, adding to a historic 120‑billion‑baht deficit recorded during the early Russia‑Ukraine war. Subsidy rates now cover diesel at 12.73 baht per litre and several gasoline blends. Officials say the fund will continue subsidising while they assess pricing and borrowing options.
Senate Democrats introduced the Small Business Liberation 2.0 Act to shield small importers from President Trump’s newly imposed 10 percent tariffs. The bill mandates a 90‑day refund of duties already collected and bars unreasonable price hikes for five years. It follows a...
US consumer price index held steady in February at a 2.4% year‑over‑year increase, matching the previous month. The pause came just before the US‑Israel conflict in Iran sparked a sharp jump in oil prices, pushing gasoline above $3.50 per gallon....
The UK government will review its planned September removal of the fuel‑duty freeze after the Iran war drove crude oil prices to about $90 a barrel, pushing petrol up 6p and diesel up 12p in a week. Prime Minister Keir...
The U.S. Supreme Court overturned President Trump’s global tariff framework, leaving the 15% EU‑US tariff rate in limbo and prompting the European Parliament to pause ratification of the new trade pact. EU exports to the United States fell 25% in...
U.S.–Turkey relations are moving toward greater cooperation as shared strategic interests outweigh public rhetoric. An analysis of sixteen regional and global issues finds eleven areas of full alignment, four with friction and one mixed, yielding a net positive score. The...
Virginia Rep. James Walkinshaw, a first‑term congressman, has joined the bipartisan Caucus on US‑Turkish Relations and Turkish Americans. He argues the caucus can strengthen democratic norms in Turkey while leveraging the country’s strategic position in regional security. Walkinshaw stresses Congress’s...
OPEC’s latest Monthly Oil Market Report leaves its global supply, demand and economic forecasts unchanged despite major supply disruptions in the Middle East Gulf following the US‑Iran conflict. The organization notes that geopolitical developments warrant close monitoring, but any impact...
Japan and Germany announced they will tap strategic petroleum reserves to curb soaring crude prices amid the Iran‑Israel war, following an International Energy Agency request for a 400 million‑barrel release. Japan plans to act as early as March 16, while Germany will...
U.S. 30‑year mortgage rates jumped 10 basis points to 6.19% in the week ending March 6, marking the steepest rise since September. The increase mirrors a sharp climb in the 10‑year Treasury yield, spurred by geopolitical tension after Iran’s conflict disrupted...
Broker StoneX dramatically reduced its global sugar surplus forecast for the 2025/26 marketing year to 870,000 metric tonnes, down from the 2.9 million tonnes projected in January. The revision stems from a downward revision of Indian sugar production to 29.7 million tonnes,...
Spain announced on March 10 that it has permanently withdrawn its ambassador to Israel, leaving the Tel Aviv mission under a charge d’affaires. The decision follows a series of diplomatic confrontations, including Spain’s ban on weapons shipments to Israel and...
U.S. gasoline prices have surged 20% since the Feb. 28 strikes by the United States and Israel drove oil higher. The increase will not appear in the February CPI, which is released later this week, but it will feed into overall...
China‑Europe rail freight via Russia fell sharply in 2025, with a 14.1% drop in total TEUs and a 22.7% plunge in eastbound shipments, reaching a historic low of 38,422 TEUs. Despite the volume decline, Chinese export value to Europe rose...
President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet from March 31 to April 2 in a summit that could extend their year‑long trade truce. Chinese officials say the White House has provided no clear agenda, leaving Beijing unsure...
Escalating hostilities between the United States, Israel and Iran have disrupted LPG shipments to India, prompting Oil Marketing Companies to issue a force‑majeure notice. Borosil Ltd, a major glass maker in Jaipur, said the shortage forced a temporary shutdown of...
Turkey’s textile and raw material exports generated $11.4 bn in 2025. This represents a modest 0.8 % decline from 2024, the smallest dip in a decade. The Istanbul Textile and Raw Materials Exporters’ Association (İTHİB) attributes the performance to resilient demand and...
India announced a fast‑track approval process for Chinese investments in selected sectors, reducing clearance time to 60 days. The new rules apply to electronics, capital goods, solar cells and battery components, but require Indian residents to hold majority stakes. The...
U.S. Representative Ed Case warned that a pending Department of Homeland Security rule could force Visa Waiver Program travelers to disclose extensive personal data, including up to five years of social‑media history. The proposal targets ESTA applicants and aims to...
The killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei by U.S.-Israeli forces sparked widespread protests across South Asia. In India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, Sunni‑majority crowds marched alongside Shia groups, chanting against the United States and Israel. Organizers framed the strike...
The European Union accepted an asymmetrical trade deal with the United States, lowering its residual tariffs while the US maintains high reciprocal tariffs. The arrangement prevents a retaliatory trade war and keeps European import costs modest. Analysts argue the deal...
The European Central Bank heads into its March 18 meeting facing a sharp shift in the macro backdrop as the Middle East war drives oil prices higher, removing any realistic chance of further rate cuts. Instead of fine‑tuning inflation forecasts,...
China’s central bank has allowed the renminbi’s daily fixing volatility to surge to its highest level since December 2024, signalling a tolerance for two‑way price swings. The People’s Bank of China set the reference rate at 6.89 yuan per U.S. dollar,...
India announced a relaxation of its foreign investment rules, allowing Chinese firms to invest in a limited set of sectors after a six‑year freeze that began in 2020. The policy shift caps Chinese ownership at 49 percent in approved industries...
S&P Global Ratings warns that India’s oil‑marketing firms IOC, BPCL and HPCL could see profit margins squeezed as they keep retail petrol and diesel prices steady amid a recent crude price surge. Crude oil jumped above $100 per barrel after...
The World Travel & Tourism Council warns that the Iran conflict is wiping out roughly $600 million in international visitor spending each day. Airspace closures and flight cancellations are disrupting the Middle East’s role as a critical aviation crossroads, affecting hubs...
U.S. strikes on Iran have prompted Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE to suspend oil and gas operations and deter tankers from the Strait of Hormuz, sharply curtailing Middle East energy exports. The disruption threatens $208 billion in crude shipments—about 21%...
The Dutch economy posted stronger‑than‑expected Q4 2025 growth, buoyed by robust goods exports and solid government consumption, creating a positive carry‑over into 2026. Manufacturing output rose 0.4% in January and consumer sales improved despite muted retail sentiment. While the Middle‑East...
The UK‑India free‑trade agreement, finalised in July 2025, promises to remove the 8‑12% duties on most Indian textiles, garments and footwear entering the UK. Retailers and suppliers, however, are frustrated by the still‑pending ratification in the UK Parliament, leaving tariffs...
The Iran war, launched by the United States and Israel, is costing U.S. taxpayers roughly $800 million to $1 billion per day, far exceeding budgeted amounts. Analysts estimate that a two‑month conflict would add about $65 billion in direct war spending plus $1.4 billion...
Australia is rapidly constructing massive, windowless steel cylinders on the outskirts of its largest cities to store fuel. Each tank, up to 50 metres in diameter and ten storeys high, can hold tens of millions of litres of petrol. The...
The International Energy Agency has proposed the largest ever release of strategic oil reserves to curb a price surge linked to the Middle East conflict. Oil prices slipped below $90 a barrel after the report, boosting equity markets. Governments are...
Borrowers face a likely interest‑rate increase as the Reserve Bank of Australia is expected to lift the cash rate by 0.25 percentage points at its March 26 meeting, taking it to 4.1%. Westpac and National Australia Bank have revised forecasts...
Dubai’s economy has shifted from oil reliance to a diversified, high‑growth hub, posting 3.6% GDP growth in 2023 and 4% in 2024. The UAE’s free‑zone model, tax competitiveness and regulatory certainty have attracted global firms and AI‑focused investors such as...
Indian edible‑oil buyers are accelerating shipments as vegetable‑oil prices and freight rates surge, fearing delays from the Middle East conflict. India, the world’s largest importer, is curbing fresh purchases of soy and sunflower oil, which could temper further price spikes...
IATA’s 2025 World Cargo Symposium report finds air freight was pivotal in cushioning severe trade‑policy shocks, enabling $157 bn of front‑loaded U.S. imports in Q1. By accelerating shipments and opening new lanes, air cargo helped global trade expand 2.4%, pushing global...
The new Forbes et al. (2026) study uses a factor‑augmented VAR across 13 advanced economies (1970‑2024) to separate global and domestic shocks affecting interest rates, inflation and output. It finds that global shocks have risen from modest influence pre‑1999 to...
Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo outlined how the United States must strengthen its competitive edge amid a multipolar world order. She warned that tariffs, once imposed, are politically sticky and likely to persist, while industrial policy will lean toward one‑time...
The article warns that the economic shock from the Israel‑U.S. attack on Iran—dubbed Gulf War III—exposes how fragile global trade is when shipping routes are disrupted. It argues that a military move against Taiwan would create a similar, if not larger,...
New research by Portes and Springford (2026) uses synthetic difference‑in‑differences to quantify Brexit’s effect on foreign‑born workers. The study finds that EU‑origin employment fell by about 785,000 by 2024, while non‑EU employment grew by roughly 992,000, resulting in a modest...
Rising energy prices triggered by the Iran conflict have pushed global gas rates up roughly 50%, inflating profits for Australian LNG exporters while household bills climb. Australia, a net oil importer but major LNG exporter, faces a fiscal dilemma: a...
The opinion piece warns that President Donald Trump’s recent military strike on Iran has embedded a costly “risk tax” across all investment portfolios. By deploying hard power, the United States has heightened geopolitical uncertainty, forcing markets to price a higher...
Diesel prices are edging toward $5 a gallon, squeezing margins for owner‑operators and carriers. While macro forces such as Middle‑East tensions and Fed policy are beyond a driver’s control, two levers remain: where fuel is purchased and how much is...
Bond fund inflows surged to $5.8 billion in early March as investors fled heightened Middle‑East tensions and the threat to the Strait of Hormuz. Short‑term Treasury ETFs led the rush, with iShares SGOV pulling in $2.27 billion, while international and emerging‑market debt...
Policymakers and experts convened to examine how critical minerals shape the Brazil‑US economic partnership. Brazil’s abundant rare‑earth and battery‑grade mineral reserves are increasingly vital to the United States’ energy‑transition agenda. The discussion highlighted supply‑chain vulnerabilities, especially reliance on China, and...
The Peterson Institute for International Economics hosted a virtual briefing that delivered fresh 2025 trade‑flow data between the United States and China, alongside analysis of fentanyl shipments and export‑control policies. Experts Chad Bown, Marcus Noland, Mary Lovely and Martin Chorzempa...
U.S. Maritime Administrator Stephen Carmel warned that rebuilding American maritime power requires more than expanding shipyard capacity; the United States must reconstruct an entire maritime ecosystem. He highlighted that the U.S. now produces only 0.1% of global commercial ships and...
On March 10, 2026, the Federal Reserve announced a closed Board of Governors meeting set for 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, March 17, 2026. The session, held at the Fed’s Washington, D.C., headquarters and via audio/video link, will be restricted from public observation under...
The Israel‑U.S. attacks on Iran have turned the Strait of Hormuz into a virtual no‑go zone, halting shipments of crude, natural gas and key fertilizers. Blocked exports of nitrogen, ammonia and phosphates pushed urea prices 71% to $600 a ton,...
Portugal’s finance ministry has opened an investigation after statistics revealed a sharp rise in exports to countries closely aligned with Russia. Direct sales to Russia dropped from over €26 million in 2021 to near zero, while exports to Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan,...
