During the second quarter, the SNB bought 5.06 billion francs’ worth of foreign currencies as economic uncertainty stirred by U.S. trade policy piled appreciation pressure on the safe-haven Swiss franc

International News via Reuters:

The Swiss National Bank bought 75 million Swiss francs’ ($95 million) worth of foreign currencies in the third quarter of 2025, a sharp reduction from the previous three-month period, data from the central bank showed on Wednesday.

During the second quarter, the SNB bought 5.06 billion francs’ worth of foreign currencies as economic uncertainty stirred by U.S. trade policy piled appreciation pressure on the safe-haven Swiss franc.

U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled a raft of tariffs against trade partners in the second quarter, and the value of foreign currencies purchased by the SNB in that period was the highest quarterly total in more than three years.

In August, Trump imposed 39% tariffs on Switzerland. A deal to reduce those levies was not reached until November.

The franc has appreciated by almost 15% against the dollar this year, according to LSEG data. Against the euro, however, it has only gained slightly. The bulk of Switzerland’s foreign trade is with euro zone countries.

Buying foreign currencies can help the SNB contain the appreciation of the franc. A rapid strengthening of the franc can put downward pressure on import costs.

The SNB targets annual inflation of 0-2% and the rate is currently right at the bottom end of that range.

($1 = 0.7929 Swiss francs)

Writing by Dave Graham; Editing by Hugh Lawson

Brent crude futures were down over 17% – the most substantial annual percentage decline since 2020 – and were on track for a third straight year of losses, their longest-ever losing streak

International News via Reuters:

Oil prices were little changed on Wednesday, but headed for a fall of more than 15% in 2025, as expectations of oversupply increased in a year marked by wars, higher tariffs, increased OPEC+ output and sanctions on Russia, Iran and Venezuela.

Brent crude futures were down over 17% – the most substantial annual percentage decline since 2020 – and were on track for a third straight year of losses, their longest-ever losing streak. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was headed for a near 19% annual decline.

BNP Paribas commodities analyst Jason Ying anticipates Brent will dip to $55 a barrel in the first quarter before recovering to $60 a barrel for the rest of 2026 as supply growth normalises and demand stays flat.

“The reason why we’re more bearish than the market in the near term is that we think that U.S. shale producers were able to hedge at high levels,” he said.

“So the supply from shale producers will be more consistent and insensitive to price movements.”

BRENT AND U.S. CRUDE LITTLE CHANGED ON WEDNESDAY

After rising slightly earlier in the day, Brent futures were down 6 cents at $61.23 a barrel by 1555 GMT, while U.S. WTI crude was at $57.88, down 7 cents. The 2025 average prices for both benchmarks are the lowest since 2020, LSEG data showed.

U.S. crude stocks fell last week, but distillate and gasoline inventories grew more than expected, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.  [EIA/S] 

Crude inventories fell by 1.9 million barrels to 422.9 million barrels in the week ended December 26, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for an 867,000-barrel draw. 

U.S. gasoline stocks rose by 5.8 million barrels in the week to 234.3 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations for a 1.9 million-barrel build.​ Distillate stockpiles, including diesel and heating oil, rose by 5 million barrels to 123.7 million barrels, versus projections of a 2.2 million-barrel rise.

Oil markets had a strong start to 2025 when former President Joe Biden ended his term by imposing tougher sanctions on Russia, disrupting supplies to major buyers China and India.

The impact of the war in Ukraine on energy markets intensified when Ukrainian drones damaged Russian infrastructure and disrupted Kazakhstan’s oil exports.

The 12-day Iran-Israel conflict in June added to the threats to supply by disrupting shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, a major route for global seaborne oil, which fanned oil prices.

In recent weeks, OPEC’s biggest producers, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, have become locked in a crisis over Yemen, and U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered a blockade on Venezuelan oil exports and threatened another strike on Iran.

OPEC+ ACCELERATED OUTPUT INCREASES

But prices eased after OPEC+ accelerated its output increases this year and as concerns about the impact of U.S. tariffs weighed on global economic and fuel demand growth.

OPEC+, which groups the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, has paused oil output hikes for the first quarter of 2026 after releasing some 2.9 million barrels per day into the market since April. The next OPEC+ meeting is on January 4.

Most analysts expect supply to exceed demand next year, with estimates ranging from the International Energy Agency’s 3.84 million barrels per day to Goldman Sachs’ 2 million bpd.

“If the price really has a substantial fall, I would imagine you will see some cuts (from OPEC+),” said Martijn Rats, Morgan Stanley’s global oil strategist. “But it probably does need to fall quite a bit further from here on – maybe in the low $50s.”  

“If today’s price simply prevails, after the pause in Q1, they’ll probably continue to unwind these cuts.”

John Driscoll, managing director of consultancy JTD Energy, expects geopolitical risks to support oil prices even though market fundamentals point to oversupply.

“Everybody’s saying it’ll get weaker into 2026 and even beyond,” he said. “But I wouldn’t ignore the geopolitics, and the Trump factor is going to be playing out because he wants to be involved in everything.”

Reporting by Florence Tan in Singapore, Enes Tunagur in London; Additional reporting by Seher Dareen and Robert Harvey in London; Editing by Barbara Lewis, Jan Harvey, Rod Nickel

President Emmanuel Macron has often pointed to social media as one of the factors to blame for violence among young people and has signalled he wants France to follow Australia

International News via Reuters:

France plans to ban children under 15 from social media sites and to prohibit mobile phones in high schools from September 2026, local media reported on Wednesday, moves that underscore rising public angst over the impact of online harms on minors.

President Emmanuel Macron has often pointed to social media as one of the factors to blame for violence among young people and has signalled he wants France to follow Australia, whose world-first ban for under-16s on social media platforms including Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube came into force in December.  

Le Monde newspaper said Macron could announce the measures in his New Year’s Eve national address, due to be broadcast at 1900 GMT. His government will submit draft legislation for legal checks in early January, Le Monde and France Info reported.

The Elysee and the prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the reports.

Mobile phones have been banned in French primary and middle schools since 2018 and the reported new changes would extend that ban to high schools. Pupils aged 11 to 15 attend middle schools in the French educational system. 

France also passed a law in 2023 requiring social platforms to obtain parental consent for under-15s to create accounts, though technical challenges have impeded its enforcement. 

MACRON WANTS MORE ACTION AT EUROPEAN UNION LEVEL

Macron said in June he would push for regulation at the level of the European Union to ban access to social media for all under-15s after a fatal stabbing at a school in eastern France shocked the nation.

The European Parliament in November urged the EU to set minimum ages for children to access social media to combat a rise in mental health problems among adolescents from excessive exposure, although it is member states which impose age limits.

Various other countries have also taken steps to regulate children’s access to social media. 

Macron heads into the New Year with his domestic legacy in tatters after his gamble on parliamentary elections in 2024 led to a hung parliament, triggering France’s worst political crisis in decades that has seen a succession of weak governments. 

However, cracking down further on minors’ access to social media could prove popular, according to opinion polls. A Harris Interactive survey in 2024 showed 73% of those canvassed supporting a ban on social media access for under-15s.

Reporting by Louise Rasmussen; Editing by Richard Lough and Gareth Jones

Midnight arrived first on the islands closest to the International Date Line in the Pacific Ocean, including Kiritimati (Christmas Island), Tonga and New Zealand

International News via Reuters:

10…nine…eight…

As Wednesday turned to Thursday, people around the world said goodbye to a sometimes challenging 2025 and expressed hopes for the new year to come.

Midnight arrived first on the islands closest to the International Date Line in the Pacific Ocean, including Kiritimati (Christmas Island), Tonga and New Zealand.

In Australia, Sydney began 2026 with a spectacular fireworks display, as per tradition. Some 40,000 pyrotechnic effects stretched 7 km (over 4 miles) across buildings and barges along its harbour and featured a waterfall effect from the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

This year, it was held under an enhanced police presence, weeks after gunmen killed 15 people at a Jewish event in the city. 

Organizers held a minute’s silence for the victims of the attack at 11 p.m. local time, with the Harbour Bridge lit up in white and a menorah – a symbol of Judaism – projected onto its pylons.  

“After a tragic end to the year for our city, we hope that New Year’s Eve will provide an opportunity to come together and look with hope for a peaceful and happy 2026,” Sydney’s Lord Mayor Clover Moore said ahead of the event.

In Croatia, revels got off to an early start. Since 2000, the town of Fuzine has held its countdown at noon, a tradition that has since spread across the country. Crowds cheered, toasted each other with champagne and danced to music – all in the middle of the day. Some brave souls in Santa hats took a plunge into the icy waters of Lake Bajer.

Elsewhere, preparations got under way for the more traditional midnight toast. In subzero temperatures in New York, organizers began putting up security barriers and stages ahead of the crowds that will flock to Times Square for the annual ball drop.

In Seoul, thousands gathered at the Bosingak bell pavilion, where a bronze bell is struck 33 times at midnight – a tradition rooted in Buddhist cosmology, symbolizing the 33 heavens. The chimes are believed to dispel misfortune and welcome peace and prosperity for the year ahead.

Reporting by Reuters bureaus; Writing by Rosalba O’Brien; Editing by Rod Nickel