Friday, October 17 2025

Rare earths tensions rise as US and China trade barbs
Chinese state media on Thursday issued a seven-point rebuttal to US calls for Beijing to wind back its rare earth controls, as both sides struggle to move beyond a volley of barbs and accusations of blindsiding the other. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on Wednesday called China’s new rare earth export restrictions “a global supply-chain power grab,” and suggested Beijing could stave off President Donald Trump’s threat to reimpose triple-digit tariffs on Chinese goods by shelving the measures set to take effect on November 8. Beijing maintains it not only notified Washington before announcing the new licensing regime, but that the controls are also consistent with measures long in place in other major economies. The US and China have been embroiled in a war of words since a September telephone call between Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, with each accusing the other of stoking tensions weeks ahead of an expected meeting between the two men. Beijing attributes the ramped-up rhetoric to the US Commerce Department’s surprise expansion of its “Entity List” in late September to include companies in China and elsewhere that use subsidiaries to bypass export restrictions on chipmaking equipment and other high-tech goods.
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IMF urges countries to keep trade as engine of growth
International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva on Thursday urged member countries to keep trade as an engine of growth for the world economy despite President Donald Trump’s steep new tariffs, warning that a larger-scale trade war could have negative consequences. Georgieva, speaking to reporters at the annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank, mapped out a sober view of a global economy that was doing better than feared when IMF and World Bank members last gathered in Washington in April, but still faced many risks, including inflation, high debt and growing unrest in countries around the world. The IMF is predicting global real GDP growth of 3.2 percent for 2025, down from 3.3 percent in 2024, but up slightly from a July forecast of 3.0 percent and a more severe April forecast of 2.8 percent that came after Trump imposed tariffs on nearly every country in the world, triggering a tit-for-tat escalation with China.
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Oil set for weekly loss as Trump-Putin summit looms
Oil prices edged lower in early trade on Friday, heading for a weekly loss, with uncertainty over global energy supplies after U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to meet in Hungary to discuss ending the war in Ukraine. Brent crude futures fell 8 cents, or 0.13%, lower at $60.98 a barrel at 0030 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were down 9 cents, or 0.16%, at $57.37. On a weekly basis, both benchmarks were down nearly 3%, partly due to the International Energy Agency’s outlook for a growing supply glut in 2026. Trump and Putin agreed on Thursday to another summit on the war in Ukraine, a surprise move that came as Moscow feared fresh U.S. military support for Kyiv. The meeting may be held within the next two weeks in Budapest.
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Pakistan deepens global partnerships as Japan’s JBIC joins Reko Diq lender group
Strengthening economic ties with major economic partners, Pakistan secured a significant boost in investor confidence after the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) agreed to join the Reko Diq lender group, during Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb’s series of high-level meetings in Washington DC with officials from the US, China, and Japan. Aurangzeb continued his engagements on the fourth day of his visit to Washington DC, where he is attending the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group, read a statement released on Friday. During his interaction, the finance minister met with Nobumitsu Hayashi, Governor of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), and “welcomed JBIC’s formal commitment to join the Reko Diq lender group, noting that this move would strengthen investor confidence and encourage Japanese businesses to expand their presence in Pakistan”.
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Intra-day update: rupee strengthens against US dollar
The Pakistani rupee registered significant gain against the US dollar, appreciating 0.07% during the opening hours of trading in the inter-bank market on Friday. At 10:20am, the local currency was hovering at 280.90, up by Re0.21 against the US dollar. On Thursday, the local unit closed at 281.11, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). Globally, the US dollar remained on the back foot on Friday as global trade frictions and signs of weakness in the US economy supported the case for more rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. The dollar index is set for its biggest weekly drop in almost three months as an extended shutdown of the US government blocked the publication of key economic data. The yen held on to gains after Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda spoke about factors that could lead to a rate increase this month.
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