Oil Prices Slide Amid US Reserves Release and Russia Sanctions Easing
Oil prices declined further on Wednesday after plummeting on Tuesday. The US Department of Energy offered up to 40 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, while President Donald Trump backs a strategy to ease Russia sanctions in exchange for the release of political prisoners. This could pave the way for deals involving Russian oil and other commodities.
The Nikkei rose 1% despite Japan's industrial output falling 1.7%, which was contrary to forecasts. Retail sales slowed to 2.7% y/y, below the expected 3.3%. The yen fell from around 157.5 to around 156.4 due to Japanese investors and exporters selling foreign currency into the fiscal half-year end.
Australia's consumer prices rose 4.0% y/y in August, driven by fuel costs. Trimmed mean, the RBA's preferred gauge of underlying inflation, rose 0.2% m/m against a forecast of 0.3%. The RBA lifted its cash rate to 4.6% on Tuesday, and Westpac sees a November follow-up as its base case.