The Open Bell — Ep. 057 — 9 Sept 2026
Today on The Open Bell:
Houthi drones hit Saudi oil infrastructure overnight and Brent crude, the global oil price benchmark, is pushing right up against $100 a barrel, which sounds like a geopolitics story until you realise it's also a "why does my petrol cost this much" story.
China just posted a record monthly trade surplus of $119 billion, exports up 25% in a single year, and the number that keeps getting buried is what they're actually selling: AI chips, electric vehicles, and advanced manufacturing goods that the rest of the world apparently can't make fast enough to compete with.
And tomorrow the ECB, Europe's central bank, is expected to raise interest rates again, to 2.65%, and doing that while oil is approaching $100 is the kind of combination that makes life genuinely harder for anyone on a variable-rate mortgage or a rising energy bill.
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Hosted by Alex Monroe. New episodes every weekday morning at theopenbell.co
Not investment advice. For informational purposes only.
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Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 00:14 Houthi Strikes Halt Saudi Oil Sites; Brent Surges Near $100 03:15 China August Trade Surplus Widens to Record $119bn; Exports 05:37 ECB Rate Decision Due 10 Sep; Markets Lean Toward 25bp Hike 07:49 Closing thoughts