Good evening, and welcome to Markets Desk.
North Korea is pushing back hard against U.S. accusations, with Kim Yo-jong publicly denying Pyongyang's involvement in the six-point-three billion dollar breach at Binance, calling the allegations a deliberate campaign to damage North Korea's international standing. Binance has confirmed it will cover customer losses.
Turning to the broader geopolitical picture, President Trump raised eyebrows this week claiming there had been no shooting for months in the conflict with Iran, even as U.S. forces carried out strikes on Qeshm Island. Trump described the situation as a, quote, very soft war, a characterization that sits uneasily alongside active military engagement in the region.
On the commodity side, wheat futures closed higher across most contracts Monday despite export data that gave traders little reason for optimism. Chicago soft red winter led modest gains, with Kansas City and Minneapolis contracts also finishing in positive territory, suggesting technical buying and positioning outweighed the weak fundamental backdrop.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
