Canada, US to Launch Formal Talks to Review Free Trade Agreement in Mid-January

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney takes part in a press conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada December 18, 2025. REUTERS/Blair Gable
Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney takes part in a press conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada December 18, 2025. REUTERS/Blair Gable
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Canada, US to Launch Formal Talks to Review Free Trade Agreement in Mid-January

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney takes part in a press conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada December 18, 2025. REUTERS/Blair Gable
Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney takes part in a press conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada December 18, 2025. REUTERS/Blair Gable

Canada and the US will launch formal discussions to review their free trade agreement in mid-January, the office of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said.

The prime minister confirmed to provincial leaders that Dominic LeBlanc, the country’s point person for US-Canada trade relations, “will meet with US counterparts in mid-January to launch formal discussions," Carney’s office said in a statement late Thursday.

The United States-Mexico-Canada trade pact, or USMCA, is up for review in 2026. US President Donald Trump negotiated the deal in his first term and included a clause to possibly renegotiate the deal in 2026.

Carney met with the leaders of Canada’s provinces on Thursday to give them an update on trade talks with the US.

Canada is one of the most trade-dependent countries in the world, and more than 75% of Canada’s exports go to the country's southern neighbor. But most exports to the US are currently exempted by USMCA.

Trump cut off trade talks to reduce tariffs on certain sectors with Carney in October after the Ontario provincial government ran an anti-tariff advertisement in the US. That followed a spring of acrimony, since abated, over Trump’s insistence that Canada should become the 51st US state.

Carney said earlier Thursday that Canada and the US were close to an agreement at the time on sectoral tariff relief in multiple areas, including steel and aluminum. Tariffs are taking a toll on certain sectors of Canada's economy, particularly aluminum, steel, auto and lumber.

Carney also said trade irritants flagged this week by US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer are elements of a “much bigger discussion” about continental trade. Greer said a coming review of the Canada-US-Mexico trade deal will hinge on resolving US concerns about Canadian policies on dairy products, alcohol and digital services.

Carney and the provincial premiers agreed to meet in person in Ottawa early in the new year.

Canada is the top export destination for 36 US states. Nearly $3.6 billion Canadian (US$2.7 billion) worth of goods and services cross the border each day.

About 60% of US crude oil imports are from Canada, as are 85% of US electricity imports.

Canada is also the largest foreign supplier of steel, aluminum and uranium to the US and has 34 critical minerals and metals that the Pentagon is eager for and investing in for national security.

Carney said US access to Canada’s critical ministers is not a certainty.

“It’s a potential opportunity for the United States, but it’s not an assured opportunity for the United States. It’s part of a bigger discussion in terms of our trading relationship, because we have other partners around the world, in Europe for example, who are very interested in participating,” Carney said earlier Thursday.



Saudi Aramco Announces Completion of $4 Billion Bond Issuance

The Aramco tower in Riyadh, which is located within the King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD). AFP
The Aramco tower in Riyadh, which is located within the King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD). AFP
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Saudi Aramco Announces Completion of $4 Billion Bond Issuance

The Aramco tower in Riyadh, which is located within the King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD). AFP
The Aramco tower in Riyadh, which is located within the King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD). AFP

Saudi Aramco announced on Tuesday that it has successfully completed a $4 billion issuance of bonds across four tranches under its Global Medium Term Note Program.

The tranches include:
• $500 million senior notes maturing in 2029 with a coupon rate of 4.0%;
• $1.5 billion senior notes maturing in 2031 with a coupon rate of 4.375%;
• $1.25 billion senior notes maturing in 2036 with a coupon rate of 5.0%; and
• $750 million senior notes maturing in 2056 with a coupon rate of 6.0%.

The transaction was priced on January 26, 2026, and the notes were listed on the London Stock Exchange.

“This issuance is part of Aramco’s focused strategy to further optimize its capital structure and enhance shareholder value creation,” said Aramco’s Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer Ziad Al-Murshed.

“The attractive pricing achieved on the transaction reflects global investors’ continued confidence in Aramco’s financial strength and resilient balance sheet,” he said.

Al-Murshed added that Aramco remains firmly committed to maintaining disciplined capital management and delivering long-term value to its shareholders.


Türkiye Monthly Inflation Jumps to 4.84% in January, Exceeds Forecast

People walk past the counter of a traditional Turkish bagel "simit" street vendor, Eminönü, Istanbul, Türkiye, Dec. 27, 2025. (AFP)
People walk past the counter of a traditional Turkish bagel "simit" street vendor, Eminönü, Istanbul, Türkiye, Dec. 27, 2025. (AFP)
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Türkiye Monthly Inflation Jumps to 4.84% in January, Exceeds Forecast

People walk past the counter of a traditional Turkish bagel "simit" street vendor, Eminönü, Istanbul, Türkiye, Dec. 27, 2025. (AFP)
People walk past the counter of a traditional Turkish bagel "simit" street vendor, Eminönü, Istanbul, Türkiye, Dec. 27, 2025. (AFP)

Turkish consumer price inflation leapt to a higher-than-expected 4.84% month-on-month in January, Turkish Statistical ​Institute data showed on Tuesday, driven in part by a 6.59% jump in food and non-alcoholic drinks prices.

Annual inflation dipped to 30.65% in January, with price rises driven by the annual hike in the minimum wage and ‌various new year price ‌adjustments.

In a Reuters ‌poll, ⁠monthly ​inflation ‌was forecast to be 4.32% with the annual rate seen at 30.00%.

In December, monthly consumer price inflation edged up to 0.89% while the annual rate slipped to 30.89%.

According to the poll's median estimate, annual ⁠inflation is expected to slow to 23% by ‌year-end, remaining above the central bank's ‍forecast of 16%.

In ‍January, the central bank lowered its ‍key interest rate by a less-than-expected 100 basis points to 37%, citing firming inflation, and pricing behavior and expectations that threaten the disinflation ​process.

After a brief policy reversal early last year due to political turmoil, ⁠the central bank's rate-cutting cycle resumed in July with a 300-basis-point move, followed by cuts of 250 points and then 100 in October amid rising food prices, before the last two cuts of 150 in December then 100 points in January.

The data also showed the domestic producer price index rose 2.67% month-on-month in January ‌for an annual increase of 27.17%.


Gold, Silver Stage Comeback after Two-session Rout

FILE PHOTO: A one-kilogram gold bar and a sealed gold coin are displayed at a jewelry store, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, January 20, 2026. REUTERS/Amr Alfiky/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A one-kilogram gold bar and a sealed gold coin are displayed at a jewelry store, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, January 20, 2026. REUTERS/Amr Alfiky/File Photo
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Gold, Silver Stage Comeback after Two-session Rout

FILE PHOTO: A one-kilogram gold bar and a sealed gold coin are displayed at a jewelry store, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, January 20, 2026. REUTERS/Amr Alfiky/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A one-kilogram gold bar and a sealed gold coin are displayed at a jewelry store, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, January 20, 2026. REUTERS/Amr Alfiky/File Photo

Gold and silver rose on Tuesday, rebounding from their steepest two-day drop in decades after Kevin Warsh was nominated as the next US Federal Reserve chair and a hike in CME margin requirements put the brakes on the metals' record rally.

Spot gold climbed 4.1% to $4,854.56 an ounce by 0623 GMT. On Monday, it had hit a low of $4,403.24 an ounce, ‌two sessions after peaking ‌at $5,594.82.

US gold futures for April delivery ‌rose ⁠4.8% to $4,838.10 per ‌ounce.

"It's a reasonable call that this is somewhere around fair value potentially, if you consider that we saw a market behaving fairly irrationally for a few weeks there," said Kyle Rodda, a senior market analyst at Capital.com.

"The current prices take gold and silver back to where they were, early in the second half of January."

Gold's parabolic rise saw it smash ⁠multiple peaks and log a nearly 13% gain in January, its biggest monthly gain since November ‌2009, while silver touched an all-time ‍high of $121.64 on Thursday.

Silver gained ‍6.2% to $84.34 an ounce on Tuesday, after posting its biggest one-day loss ‍on record on Friday with a 27% slump. It fell by another 6% in the last session and hit a low of $71.33 an ounce. "The markets endorsed Warsh's nomination by US President Donald Trump as someone relatively credible, and so we saw the dollar move on that basis, and again, that was kind of like the pin that popped ⁠the big precious metals," Rodda said. CME Group also raised margin requirements on precious metal futures, fueling last week's sharp selloff that was triggered after Kevin Warsh's nomination to head the central bank. Despite the historic pullback in gold and silver prices, analysts see the metals' bull run continuing and expect it to notch fresh record highs later this year. Meanwhile, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Monday the closely watched employment report for January would not be released this Friday because of a partial shutdown of the federal government.

In other metals, spot platinum climbed 2.9% to $2,183.38 per ‌ounce after hitting a record high of $2,918.80 on January 26, while palladium was up 2.8% at $1,766.02.