US and Australia sign rare-earth minerals deal

The US has signed a deal with Australia giving it access to rare-earth minerals. The agreement is reportedly worth USD 8.5bn and will serve as a counterpoint to new controls on rare-earth mineral exports from China announced last week. Separately, President Trump has set out key demands ahead of a continuation of US-China trade negotiations, including China resuming purchases of US soybean crops. The current trade truce between the two nations is due to come to an end on 10 November.

Consumer price inflation in Oman rose 1.13% y/y in September, up sharply from the 0.47% recorded in August. The increase in the pace of price growth stemmed largely from transport costs which rose 4.5% y/y. Qatar CPI also saw a rise in September, increasing to 1.15% y/y from 0.73% in August, marking the fastest pace of increase since August 2024.

Egypt’s trade balance has narrowed to a deficit of USD 4.732bn in August from -5.225bn the month prior.

Today’s Economic Data and Events

• 10:00 UK Public sector net borrowing (Sept): Forecast £20.8bn
• 16:30 CA CPI (Sept): Forecast 2.2% y/y

Fixed Income

• US Treasury yields fell on Monday, with lower oil prices reducing concerns about the outlook for inflation ahead of Friday’s delayed CPI release. The 10yr yield dropped 3bps to reach 3.98%, while the yield on the 2yr was broadly flat at 3.4552%.
• Moves in European bonds were more mixed. The 10yr Gilt yield fell 2.5bps to 4.503%, while the 10yr Bund yield declined by less than 1bps to 2.576%.

FX

• The dollar spot index gained 0.2% on Monday. EURUSD fell 0.1% to 1.1642, while GBPUSD declined by 0.16% to 1.3405. USDJPY gained 0.1% to 150.75.
• In emerging markets, USDTRY declined 0.3% to 41.7871, and USDEGP fell 0.16% to 47.5.

Equities

• US equity markets saw further gains on Monday, driven by lower US-China trade tensions, strong earnings data and a boost to apple shares. The Dow Jones and the S&P 500 both rose 1.1%, and NASDAQ gained 1.4%.
• European equity markets also gained on the day. The Eurostoxx 50 rose 1.3%, the FTSE 100 increased by 0.5%, the CAC 40 gained 0.4% and the DAX jumped 1.8%.
• In local markets the DFM dropped 0.6% while the ADX fell 0.2%. The Tadawul declined 0.4%.

Commodities

• Oil prices fell on Monday, as investors look for signs of an expanding surplus. Brent futures fell 0.5% to reach USD 61.01/b, while WTI was broadly unchanged at USD 57.52/b.
• Gold saw further gains on Monday, despite easing China-US trade tensions. Prices rose 2.5% to close at USD 4,356.30/troy oz. Silver also gained, increasing 1% to USD 52.45/troy oz.