Stephen Miran, a Federal Reserve governor whose term ends at the end of January, said Thursday that he is looking for 150 basis points of interest-rate cuts this year to boost the U.S. labor market. Miran told Bloomberg Television's Surveillance program that Fed officials had room to further reduce rates given his view that underlying inflation was likely running at 2.3%. "I'm looking for about a point and a half of cuts. A lot of that is driven by my view of inflation," Miran said. "Underlying inflation is running within noise of our target, and that's a good indication of where overall...
The Australian Dollar (AUD) is under pressure against the US Dollar (USD) on Thursday, with AUD/USD down almost 0.50%, trading near 0.6510 at the time of writing. The pullback reflects broad Greenback resilience as markets digest a mixed batch of US labor data and stronger services activity, though the pair is holding firm above the 0.6500 psychological level. The US Dollar is regaining ground, with the DXY index hovering near 98.40, underpinned by cautious positioning ahead of Friday's Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP). Labor signals this week have pointed to softer hiring and rising layoffs, while...
Oil prices eased about 1% to a two-week low on Thursday on a surprise build in U.S. crude inventories last week and expectations that OPEC+ producers will increase output targets at a meeting this weekend. Brent crude futures fell 67 cents, or 1.0%, to $66.93 a barrel at 12:05 p.m. EDT (1603 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 59 cents, or 0.9%, to $63.38. That put Brent on track for its lowest close since August 20. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said energy firms added 2.4 million barrels of crude into storage during the week ended August 29. [EIA/S]...
Gold price edges lower during the North American session on Thursday as the Greenback recovers some ground, even though the latest round of economic data increased speculation that the Federal Reserve may cut interest rates at the September meeting. The XAU/USD trades at $3,542, down 0.48%. Bullion eases 0.48% despite weak US jobs data fueling near-certainty of a September Fed rate cut The US economic docket revealed that the labor market continues to weaken after Initial Jobless Claims for the previous week rose. Other data showed that the trade deficit widened in July, while the...
Oil prices plunged 1.5% on Thursday, extending a more than 2% decline in the previous session, as investors awaited the weekend OPEC+ meeting where producers are expected to consider another production hike. Brent crude fell $1, or 1.5%, to $66.59 a barrel at 11:04 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell $1, or 1.6%, to $62.95 a barrel. The eight-member Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC+) and its allies – known collectively as OPEC+ – will consider further production increases in October at a meeting on Sunday, two sources familiar with the discussions told...
The US dollar held steady on Thursday (September 4) amid a volatile week as investors grappled with a fragile bond market and data showing a weakening labor market, which has reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates this month. With the Fed's focus on employment, Friday's key employment report will help set expectations for the central bank's next few policy meetings. Wednesday's data showed job openings fell to a 10-month low in July, although layoffs remained relatively low. Separate surveys of private-sector employment and monthly layoffs will be released...
Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Kazuo Ueda stated that achieving 2% inflation is getting closer, although real inflation remains low. Ueda emphasized that the BOJ will continue to raise interest rates...
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) maintained its cash rate at 4.1% during its April meeting, holding borrowing costs unchanged after slashing 25 bps in the February meeting, aligning with market...