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Overseas news
On Monday, the US and Australia entered a deal to support Australian mining firms and establish a price floor for critical minerals. The 2 countries pledged to invest $1 billion each over the next 6 months.
The agreement seeks to reduce China’s dominance in the critical minerals sector. Such minerals are essential for a wide range of industries such as renewable energy, defense, aerospace, and consumer electronics.
Meanwhile, China’s economy grew by only 4.8% in the 3rd quarter, marking its slowest growth in a year. This was driven by weak domestic demand and an over-dependence on exports, which raised concerns about worsening structural issues.
Economic growth is measured by tracking changes in the gross domestic product (GDP), which is the value of everything a country produces in a given period.
Local developments
Electricity bills may rise starting November after the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) approved a higher Feed-in Tariff Allowance (FIT-All) charge of P0.2073/kWh to fund renewable energy developers.
Higher electricity rates can affect both households and businesses. Such increases could hike manufacturing costs, which may impact prices.
Additionally, the Philippines’ Balance of Payments (BOP) surplus fell to $82 million in September, down sharply from $3.526 billion last year and $359 million in August. This also marks the 2nd consecutive monthly surplus.
The BOP is the difference between the money entering a country and the amount leaving that country during a certain period.
Further, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) raised P22 billion from fully awarded Treasury bills on Monday. Bids totaled P95.17 billion, which is over 4 times the offer but slightly less than the previous week’s P97.19 billion.
Strong demand was seen as investors anticipate rate cuts from the US Federal Reserve (the Fed) and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
Short-term debt instruments like T-bills tend to be attractive when rate cuts are expected, since such moves can make future bills and bonds less profitable.
Today’s news offers little hint of big changes happening in the short term. Maintaining your strategy might be wise right now.
