Spot platinum breaks through $1,720 per ounce, up 1.16% intraday

(1) Two strategists from the research department of OCBC Group stated in a report that the lower-than-expected US nonfarm payrolls report may provide some "short-term relief" for Asian currencies. (2) The strategists noted that this report "somewhat reduces the urgency for the Federal Reserve to further tighten policy." (3) However, they indicated that "they remain cautious about extrapolating this to a broad rally in Asian foreign exchange markets." (4) The strategists also pointed out that long-term US Treasury yields remain high, while oil prices are still elevated, making oil-importing Asian currencies—such as the Indonesian rupiah, Philippine peso, and Thai baht—relatively more vulnerable. (5) The US dollar was little changed against the Philippine peso, quoted at 62.486 pesos; it rose 0.1% against the Thai baht, quoted at 33.56 baht.

(1) Shipping data released on Monday shows that, despite attacks on vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz, Middle East crude oil exports exceeded pre-war levels on four out of the last seven days of September. (2) Preliminary data from ship tracking company Kpler indicates that crude oil exports in the region surpassed pre-war levels on September 24 and from September 27 to 29, rising to 19.5 million to 22.5 million barrels per day. (3) Before the conflict between the US, Israel, and Iran broke out—that is, from March 2025 to February of this year—average exports were 18 million barrels per day. (4) Data shows that as of October 1, the seven-day moving average for crude oil exports was 18.5 million barrels per day. (5) This data covers shipments through the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea, terminal exports, and ship-to-ship transfers in the Gulf of Oman. (6) Kpler data shows that in the week ending September 30, the average total transport volume of crude oil, oil products, chemicals, and non-gaseous liquids was 22.4 million barrels per day. (7) In September, the number of liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers passing through the Strait of Hormuz increased, reaching the highest monthly level since February. (8) The above data does not include vessels that turned off their Automatic Identification System (AIS) transponders to avoid monitoring when passing through the strait.

The main Brent crude oil futures contract fell by 1.00% during the day, trading at $101.67 per barrel.

The US Dollar Index has just surpassed the 102.00 mark, now quoted at 102.01, up 0.13% on the day.