<p><span data-teams="true"><strong>GLOBAL: US President Donald Trump announced that the US will not launch attacks on Iran prior to the midterm elections</strong>, stating that productive discussions are currently underway with Iran.&nbsp;</span></p>

<p><span data-teams="true"><strong>Market impact:&nbsp;Oil prices fell following President Trump's statements</strong>, while US equities declined as OpenAI-related reports weighed on technology stocks.</span></p>

<p><span data-teams="true"><strong>However, economic pressure will likely continue,</strong> with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announcing penalties against 27 companies and 22 vessels linked to Iranian oil sales.</span></p>

<p><span data-teams="true"><strong>LOCAL: The country’s Gross International Reserves fell to USD 99.997 billion by the end of September, a three-year low.</strong> The BSP was forced to release US dollar liquidity to defend the peso.</span></p>

<p><span data-teams="true"><strong>Market impact:&nbsp;The PSEi declined amid anticipated rate hikes</strong>, while the peso hit a record low driven by political uncertainty and supply-side oil concerns.</span></p>

<p><span data-teams="true"><strong>End-September reserves covered 6.3 months of imports and payments</strong>, surpassing the three-month adequacy benchmark.</span></p>