Australia’s trade surplus widened sharply to AUD 2.83 billion in September 2026 from a downwardly revised AUD 0.18 billion surplus in the previous month, surpassing market expectations of an AUD 0.8 billion deficit. It was the largest trade surplus since February, as exports rose while imports fell.

Crude oil traded near $88 per barrel on Thursday, following a decline of more than 8% in the previous session that pushed prices to a one-month low. The drop came as a Democratic sweep in the US midterm elections fueled expectations that the Trump administration could face growing pressure to bring the war with Iran to an end. President Donald Trump acknowledged that Republicans suffered losses largely due to the conflict and pointed to rising gasoline prices as a major contributing factor, while indicating no immediate plans to ramp up military strikes against Iran. A Democratic-controlled Congress could limit military funding for operations in the Middle East, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer vowing to push for an end to the conflict. Meanwhile, crude exports from the Persian Gulf have begun recovering, with supply exceeding near-term demand. Overall, the US oil benchmark has fallen about 15% so far this week.

South Korea’s current account surplus widened sharply to a record high of USD 61.46 billion in September 2026, up from USD 46.11 billion in August. The goods account surplus increased to USD 62.75 billion in September from USD 46.81 billion in August, with exports jumping 92.4% yoy to USD 130.72 billion, while imports rose 29.4% to USD 67.97 billion. Exports surged, boosted by strong growth in semiconductor exports amid the global AI boom. Additionally, the primary income account surplus climbed to USD 2.65 billion from USD 1.92 billion, while the secondary income deficit narrowed to USD 0.59 billion from USD 0.94 billion, reflecting smaller secondary income payments. Meanwhile, the services account deficit widened to USD 3.35 billion from USD 1.68 billion, due to higher deficits in the use of intellectual property and other business services. For the first nine months of 2026, the current account surplus soared to USD 340.66 billion from USD 89.39 billion in the same period of 2025.

The ISM Services PMI decreased to 54.5 in October 2026, the lowest in three months, compared to 54.9 in September and forecasts of 54.8. The reading pointed to a slowdown in services growth, due to business activity (53.8 vs 56.5), new orders (55.9 vs 59.8), and inventories (55.4 vs 57.8). Meanwhile, there was slower supplier delivery performance (56.7 vs 53.2) while employment expanded for a second month (51.4 vs 50.1) and price pressures eased (73 vs 74). “Tariffs and fuel cost impacts continued to be the most-cited issues impacting respondents’ supply chains, while many respondents indicated they are not yet seeing the full impact of these cost escalations or have not passed them through to customers. This indicates that more pricing pressure is on the way if oil and tariff cost impacts are not mitigated, even if they do not increase from current levels. Commentary on supply chain constraints increased significantly month over month", according to Steve Miller, Chair of the ISM.

Brazil's central bank kept the benchmark Selic rate unchanged at 13.75% at its November meeting, pausing its rate-cutting cycle as worsening inflation expectations and mounting fiscal pressure complicate the policy outlook. Expectations for loose public spending are driving inflation forecasts further above the 3% goal. Copom noted that the external environment has become more adverse amid prolonged conflicts in the Middle East, which drove up oil and refined product prices, as well as tighter monetary policy in advanced economies. Domestically, indicators released since the previous meeting point to a sharper moderation in economic activity, particularly in more cyclical sectors. The labor market remains resilient but is showing signs of marginal cooling. Meanwhile, headline inflation and the average of underlying inflation measures have risen, remaining above the upper bound of the inflation target tolerance range. Copom emphasized the need for caution amid heightened uncertainty.

The US trade deficit narrowed slightly to $105 billion in September 2026 from $105.7 billion in August, compared to forecasts of a $108 billion gap. Exports jumped 1.9% to a five-month high of $321.5 billion, boosted by sales of computers, soybeans, crude oil, computer accessories, civilian aircraft, and pharmaceutical preparations while a decrease was recorded for nonmonetary gold. Meanwhile, imports rose at a slower 1.2% but reached a record high of $426.6 billion, led by purchases of computers, computer accessories, and pharmaceutical preparations while a decrease was seen for semiconductors, nonmonetary gold and crude oil. The largest trade gaps were recorded with Mexico ($-28.7 billion), Vietnam ($-25.3 billion), Taiwan ($-21.9 billion), China ($-17.9 billion), the EU ($-14.2 billion) and South Korea ($-12.8 billion). The deficit with Canada was at $4.4 billion.