Oil is rising as inventories decline. The Bank of Indonesia unexpectedly cut its key interest rate

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (US30) rose by 0.04% on Wednesday. The S&P 500 (US500) fell by 0.24%. The Nasdaq (US100) closed down 0.67%. In the July FOMC meeting minutes, almost all officials supported keeping the rate at the current 4.25–4.50%, with only Michelle Bowman and Christopher Waller speaking in favor of a quarter-point rate cut to protect the weakening labor market. Their concerns were heightened after data from the Department of Labor showed lower-than-expected July employment figures, a higher unemployment rate, and a sharp downward revision of previous job gain numbers, which prompted Trump to fire the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Markets believe there is an 85% probability of a September rate cut, with a speech from Powell at Jackson Hole on Friday expected to clarify his position.

European stock markets were mostly down yesterday. Germany’s DAX (DE40) fell by 0.60%, France’s CAC 40 (FR40) closed down 0.08%, Spain’s IBEX35 (ES35) fell by 0.08%, and the UK’s FTSE 100 (UK100) closed up 1.08%. The Eurozone’s annual inflation rate in July 2025 remained unchanged from the previous month at 2%, matching the flash estimate and staying slightly above the market’s initial expectation of 1.9%. This is the second consecutive month that inflation has matched the European Central Bank’s official target. The rise in service prices slowed (3.2% vs 3.3% in June), hitting a three-year low since May and offsetting acceleration in most other areas of the bloc’s consumer basket. Meanwhile, core inflation, which excludes energy, food, alcohol, and tobacco, remained unchanged at 2.3%, the lowest level since January 2022.

In August 2025, the Swedish Riksbank kept its policy rate at 2% as expected, as inflation rose more than anticipated. The growth of real wages, previous rate cuts, and an increase in business confidence are creating some conditions for economic recovery, albeit at a slow pace. Given these conditions, the Central Bank decided to leave rates unchanged, maintaining its June assessment that the outlook is broadly unchanged and leaving the door open for further rate cuts this year if inflation subsides and economic weakness persists.

WTI crude oil prices rose by 1.4% to $63.2 per barrel on Wednesday after a weekly report from the Energy Information Administration showed a 6 million-barrel decrease in US crude inventories, providing moderate support for prices. Despite the overall decline, inventories in Cushing, Oklahoma, rose for the seventh consecutive week to 23.5 million barrels, reflecting a sharp increase in supplies from the Permian Basin. Analysts noted that while the inventory decline is a “bullish” factor in the short term, the long-term outlook remains “bearish” due to an anticipated increase in OPEC+ supply and demand concerns. Futures have fallen more than 10% this year, reflecting ongoing market uncertainty.

Asian markets were mostly up yesterday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 (JP225) fell by 1.51%, China’s FTSE China A50 (CHA50) rose by 1.03%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng (HK50) rose by 0.17%, and Australia’s ASX 200 (AU200) showed a positive result of 0.25%.

On Thursday, the Australian dollar fell to $0.642, marking its fourth consecutive session of decline and remaining at its lowest level in three weeks following the release of the latest economic data. Australia’s private sector grew at its fastest pace since April 2022, with the composite PMI rising to 54.9 in August, driven by strong expansion in services (55.1 vs 54.1 in July) and manufacturing (52.9 vs 51.3), fueled by a significant increase in new orders and an expanding client base. Meanwhile, consumer inflation expectations fell for the second consecutive month, decreasing to 3.9% in August 2025 from 4.7% in July, the lowest level since March.

The Bank of Indonesia unexpectedly cut its key interest rate by 25 bps to 5.0% at its August 2025 policy meeting, following a 25 bps cut in the previous month and contrary to market expectations of leaving rates unchanged. This was the fifth rate cut since last September, bringing the key rate to its lowest level since October 2022. The decision reflects projections that inflation in 2025–2026 will remain within the Central Bank’s target range of 2.5 plus-minus 1%, a stable rupiah exchange rate, and ongoing efforts to support economic growth. The latest data showed that Q2 GDP grew by 5.12% y/y, the highest figure in the last two years. Meanwhile, annual inflation rose to 2.37% in July from 1.87% in June, a yearly high, but still within the Central Bank’s target range.