Increases in Europe, oil prices fall

10:39

As in the whole world, there is also a positive trend in Europe – the Frankfurt and Paris stock exchanges are up by about 1%. There is no trading in London today.

08:37

This morning, Singapore reported lower-than-expected inflation figures for the month of April, which stood at 1.8%, and this is because the high costs of energy as a result of the war with Iran will be significantly reflected only from the third quarter.

Economists estimated that inflation would be 2%. Core inflation – which neutralizes the prices of private transportation and housing – stood at 1.4%.

Earlier, Singapore revised its gross domestic product (GDP) growth for the first quarter sharply upward to 6%, from 4.6% in early estimates, thereby beating forecasts of 5.1%.

The country’s Ministry of Trade and Industry said that Singapore’s full annual growth for 2026 will range between 2% and 4%, and this against the backdrop of energy-related disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.

In its April policy decision, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS – Central Bank) predicted that energy supply shortages and higher input costs would continue to weigh on Singapore’s economic outlook. In April, the MAS tightened its monetary policy for the first time in over three years, due to the inflation forecast.

Unlike most countries, Singapore does not use interest rates to manage its monetary policy, but directs and manages the Singapore dollar within a policy band against a trade-weighted currency basket.

07:14

Oil prices continue to fall at this time by more than 5%: the price of a barrel of Brent oil stands at $95, and the price of a barrel of American oil stands at $91.

Last week, crude oil in the US lost more than 8%, and the Brent price fell more than 5%, after Trump announced that he canceled immediate airstrikes against Iran to allow more time for negotiations. Prices have jumped more than 30% since the United States and Israel attacked Iran on February 28.

05:20

The Nikkei 225 index in Japan crossed the 65,000 point mark for the first time this morning and reached a peak in Asian trade, which was sparse due to the holidays.

In the background: reports that the Strait of Hormuz will open, which pushed oil prices down and raised investor sentiment.

US President Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social that the negotiations with Iran “are being conducted in an orderly and constructive manner”, adding that he told his representatives “not to rush into a deal at this time that he is by their side”.

Oil prices fell by more than 5% after Trump’s words, but are still far from pre-war levels.

West Texas Intermediate crude futures for July were down 4.47% at $92.28 a barrel in early Asian trade. Brent crude oil futures for July fell by 4.13% to $99.26 per barrel.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose more than 3% while the Topix added 1.36%.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.27%. The CSI 300 index in China added 0.48%.

Markets in Hong Kong and South Korea are closed for holidays. US markets will also be closed for Memorial Day.