The Japanese yen rose in Asian trading on Friday against a basket of major and minor currencies, extending gains for a third consecutive session against the US dollar. The currency is now trading near a two-week high and is on track to secure another weekly gain — its largest weekly advance since September — supported by growing expectations of an interest-rate hike in Japan later this month.

More hawkish remarks from Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda opened the door to near-term policy normalization, coinciding with Reuters reports citing government sources that the central bank is likely to raise rates in December.

Price Overview

• USD/JPY Today: The dollar fell about 0.2% against the yen to 154.80¥, from an opening level of 155.05, after touching a high of 155.23.

• The yen ended Thursday up 0.1% against the dollar, marking a second straight daily gain and reaching a two-week high of 154.51, supported by hopes that the interest-rate gap between Japan and the US will narrow.

Weekly Trading

So far this week — which concludes with today’s settlement — the Japanese yen is up roughly 0.85% against the US dollar, on track for a second consecutive weekly gain and its strongest weekly performance since late September.

Kazuo Ueda

On Monday, BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda offered a more optimistic outlook for Japan’s economy, saying the central bank will weigh the pros and cons of raising interest rates at its upcoming December policy meeting.

Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said on Friday, in response to a question on monetary policy: since taking office in October, communication with Governor Ueda has been very strong. She added that the specifics of monetary operations fall strictly under the BOJ’s authority.

Views and Analysis

Christopher Wong, FX strategist at OCBC, said: “This looks like pre-positioning for a possible rate hike. A December or January move now seems highly plausible.”

He added: “The key question is whether this will be a one-and-done increase followed by another long pause. A sustained recovery in the yen will likely require stronger forward guidance from the BOJ.”

Japanese Interest Rates

• Reuters sources said the BOJ is preparing markets for a potential rate hike in December, returning to a more hawkish tone as concerns about the yen’s sharp decline re-emerge and political pressure to keep rates low fades.

• Three government officials told Reuters the BOJ will *likely* raise interest rates this month.

• Market pricing currently assigns roughly a 70% probability of a 25-basis-point rate hike at the December meeting.

• To refine these expectations, investors are awaiting further Japanese data on inflation, unemployment, and wage growth.

The US dollar rose against most major currencies on Thursday following economic data that strengthened expectations the Federal Reserve will likely cut interest rates at its meeting next week.

Government figures released today showed that initial jobless claims fell by 27,000 to 191,000 last week, compared with expectations of 220,000.

According to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, announced job cuts in the US totaled 71.3 thousand in November.

Markets now await Friday’s release of the Personal Consumption Expenditures Index, the Fed’s preferred gauge of inflation.

Based on CME Group’s FedWatch Tool, expectations point to nearly an 89% probability of a rate cut at the upcoming meeting.

In trading, the dollar index edged higher by less than 0.1% to 98.9 points at 18:42 GMT, after hitting a high of 99.03 and a low of 98.7.

Australian Dollar

The Australian dollar rose 0.2% against its US counterpart to 0.6616 at 18:53 GMT.

Canadian Dollar

The Canadian dollar held steady at 0.7168 against the US dollar at 18:53 GMT.

Artificial intelligence has rapidly emerged as one of the defining global forces of our era. As a core driver of the fourth industrial revolution, it is increasingly viewed as a strategic tool to tackle major challenges such as climate change and pollution. Energy companies are deploying AI to digitize records, analyze massive geological datasets, and identify early-warning signs of operational issues — from equipment overuse to pipeline corrosion.

AI now plays a central role in seismic data analysis, well-path optimization, and advanced reservoir management, enabling higher recovery rates with lower environmental impact and fewer human errors. Companies such as AI Driller use remote, AI-driven systems to manage drilling operations across multiple rigs, while Petro AI and Tachyus build physics-based models to forecast production and optimize reservoir performance. Energy services giants Baker Hughes (NYSE:BKR) and C3.ai (NYSE:AI) rely on enterprise AI systems to predict equipment failures, and Buzz Solutions analyzes visual data to inspect and maintain power lines.

A similar transformation is unfolding across the electricity sector, where AI is redesigning operations from generation to consumption — even as AI itself drives power demand sharply higher.

AI improves demand response and energy efficiency through platforms such as Brainbox AI and Enerbrain, which autonomously reduce unnecessary energy use. Meanwhile, Uplight helps utilities incentivize efficient consumption. AI also facilitates the integration of renewable energy by analyzing huge datasets — including weather patterns — to more accurately predict solar and wind output.

In the renewable energy segment, AI enhances grid management, balances supply and demand in real time, and uses machine-learning models to predict equipment failures, thereby minimizing downtime and lowering operating costs. Envision and PowerFactors offer unified platforms for managing massive renewable fleets, while Clir and WindESCo detect under-performing wind turbines and automatically optimize blade angles and orientations for maximum energy capture. SkySpecs uses AI-powered autonomous drones to perform automated turbine inspections, and Form Energy is developing long-duration storage solutions to address renewable intermittency.

AI has also become fundamental to building modern smart grids by enhancing visibility, managing congestion, and preventing outages. Kraken Technologies provides the AI “brain” for next-generation grids, balancing intermittent renewable supply with real-time demand, coordinating millions of decentralized energy assets, and automating operations to maximize efficiency and system stability.

WeaveGrid and Camus Energy help utilities integrate electric vehicles and other distributed energy resources without overloading the grid. WeaveGrid’s EV-specific software optimizes charging schedules to align with grid capacity and renewable availability, while Camus Energy uses machine learning to deliver highly accurate demand and power-flow forecasts — speeding up complex grid-physics computations and improving stability during peak EV charging.

AI is also redefining carbon-emissions management and ESG compliance by centralizing data, streamlining processes, monitoring supply chains, and improving reporting accuracy. Companies can now track emissions in real time, run predictive models, and automate ESG reporting — including anomaly detection and regulatory navigation.

CarbonChain and Watershed use AI and machine learning to deliver detailed, scalable emissions measurement — especially for supply-chain (Scope 3) emissions. CarbonChain automates large-scale supply-chain data ingestion and analysis to produce audit-ready emissions reports. Watershed’s enterprise sustainability platform uses AI extensively to automate data collection and improve accuracy. Its Product Footprints tool analyzes every purchased item — breaking it down into raw materials, manufacturing steps, and transportation — producing granular emissions estimates within minutes.

Yet the rise of AI has carried a significant cost: soaring electricity consumption in states hosting large clusters of AI data centers. Tech giants and AI labs are building enormous data-center campuses that can each consume up to a gigawatt of power — enough to supply more than 800,000 homes. Unsurprisingly, the states with the heaviest concentration of these energy-hungry sites are also experiencing some of the steepest increases in electricity prices.

Virginia hosts 666 data centers — the highest number in the US — and residential electricity prices in the state surged 13% in August from a year earlier, the second-largest increase nationwide. Illinois, home to 244 data centers, saw prices rise 15.8%, the highest in the country.

Predictably, political backlash is rising. Several lawmakers have criticized the Trump administration for striking private deals with major tech companies and shifting the burden of data-center energy costs onto consumers. As a result, the industry is increasingly exploring the model pioneered by Oklo (NYSE:OKLO), in which data centers generate their own dedicated power supply — reducing strain on local grids and shielding consumers from additional costs.

Copper prices climbed to a fresh record on Wednesday after a surge in withdrawal requests from London Metal Exchange warehouses deepened concerns that potential US tariffs could trigger a global supply squeeze — though the industrial metal edged slightly lower in today’s session.

Futures in London jumped 3.4% to trade above $11,500 per metric ton, surpassing Monday’s peak after LME data showed a sharp rise in copper withdrawals from Asian warehouses. Mining shares rallied as well, with Chile’s Antofagasta surging more than 5% to an all-time high.

Copper has been on an extended upward run in recent weeks amid growing warnings from traders and analysts that global inventories could soon fall to critical levels, especially with more shipments being diverted to the US ahead of possible tariff measures.

Benchmark LME copper is now up more than 30% year-to-date, supported by production disruptions at several major mines that have tightened global supply. But US futures have risen even more sharply, reflecting investor bets that President Donald Trump will move ahead with tariffs on primary copper forms by the end of next year.

“There is clearly a very strong underlying story in the copper market,” said Helen Amos, commodities analyst at BMO Capital Markets. “Investors recognize that miners are struggling to maintain and expand production.”

She added that the widening “price spread between the US and the rest of the world” is having the biggest impact on driving prices higher.

Trump first announced plans for copper tariffs in February, shaking the global industry and sending US import volumes to record levels. In late July, he surprised markets again by narrowing the proposed tariffs to manufactured copper products while leaving the door open to duties on raw forms starting in 2027.

These shifting tariff expectations have had major consequences in the physical market, prompting traders to accelerate shipments into US ports and pushing domestic futures higher. Producers have also imposed record-high premiums for supplying copper to customers in Europe and Asia next year, as buyers effectively compensate miners for potential extra profits from selling into the US market.

Last week, commodity trading firm Mercuria warned that these trade dynamics could spark a severe global supply crisis by the first quarter of next year, predicting that copper would continue setting unprecedented highs.

“The ongoing tariff threat is the most certain driver in the copper market through the first half of next year,” said Dan Ghali, senior commodities strategist at TD Securities. “It’s a powerful catalyst for further upside.”

He added that the market’s microstructure ensures continued incentives to draw copper out of global inventories for months to come — inadvertently draining stocks or diverting supply away from the world market as the US pulls more metal into storage.

Most of the copper stored in LME warehouses originates from China — already subject to US tariffs — and from Russia, which is barred from exporting to the US. But these stocks can be used to meet Asian demand, freeing up supply from countries like Chile and Japan to be redirected toward the US.

Fundamentally, the copper market has been strained this year by disruptions at mines from Chile to Indonesia. The latest sign of stress came Wednesday when Ivanhoe Mines cut production guidance from its massive Kamoa-Kakula complex in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is still recovering from earlier flooding. Glencore — whose output has fallen 40% since 2018 — also lowered its production target for next year, though it said it plans to nearly double output over the next decade.

Supply fears have kept copper prices elevated despite relatively softer demand. Goldman Sachs expects a global surplus of around 500,000 tons this year, citing a “material slowdown” in Chinese demand in recent months.

Even so, Goldman analysts — including Auriela Walther and Eoin Dinsmore — noted that nearly all of that surplus appears concentrated in the US, while other regions are seeing shrinking availability.

In US trading on Thursday, March copper futures slipped 0.5% to $5.36 per pound as of 14:17 GMT.