Welcome to Markets Desk, here's what's moving markets right now.
Oil markets are flashing a serious warning sign. Carlyle's Jeff Currie says Asia is already near tank bottoms — the minimum operating levels needed to keep supply chains functional — and Europe isn't far behind. The United States could be facing outright shortages by July, a timeline that should be concentrating minds in energy trading desks right now.
Shifting to Asia, Singapore came in with a notably soft inflation print for April, core CPI at one point four percent against estimates of one point seven. That's a meaningful undershoot, and it lands alongside an upward revision to the city-state's economic growth forecast — a rare combination that suggests the Monetary Authority of Singapore has room to stay accommodative without stoking price pressure.
And on the corporate side, Uber's chief operating officer is raising a flag that more executives will likely echo. Andrew Macdonald says he is not seeing productivity gains proportional to what the company is spending on artificial intelligence — a pointed admission from a major technology-forward operator. With AI budgets ballooning across the industry, that kind of candor from the C-suite carries real weight for anyone pricing the AI investment thesis.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
