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...
EUR/USD extends its winning streak for the third straight day, trading around 1.1520 during Asian hours on Friday (6/20). The currency pair strengthened as the US dollar (USD) weakened, possibly on technical pullback. The US dollar could recover on increased safe-haven demand, driven by growing concerns over potential US involvement in an Israel-Iran air war. Iran has not yet decided whether to build a nuclear weapon, despite having developed a large stockpile of enriched uranium needed to make a bomb, according to a senior US intelligence official quoted by The New York Times. Meanwhile,...
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the US Dollar (USD) against a basket of six major currencies, extended its decline for the second straight day and traded lower around 98.70 at the time of writing. Traders are likely to gauge the Fed Monetary Policy Report, which is scheduled to be released on Friday. The Federal Reserve Board will submit a report to Congress containing a discussion of "the conduct of monetary policy and economic developments and prospects for the future." The US dollar may have strengthened again due to rising safe-haven demand, driven by growing concerns over...
The Australian dollar (AUD) retraced its recent decline on Friday (6/20). The AUD/USD pair remained firm after the release of the interest rate decision from China. However, the pair's gains could be limited due to weaker risk sentiment amid rising Middle East tensions. The People's Bank of China (PBOC) decided to leave the Loan Prime Rate (LPR) unchanged on Friday. The one-year and five-year LPRs were at 3.00% and 3.50%, respectively. US intelligence agencies believe that Iran has not yet decided whether to pursue nuclear weapons, despite having developed a large stockpile of enriched...
Gold prices held steady in holiday-thinned trade as markets digested the Federal Reserve meeting results and the Middle East conflict. Israel and Iran continued to trade barbs, with Trump saying he would decide on a US strike on Iran "within two weeks." The safe-haven metal traded in a tight range amid lower volumes, but underlying risks remain real, says Tammy Da Costa at FXStreet. Geopolitical tensions remain the main upside driver for gold, although it faces pressure from renewed USD strength after the Fed update, she writes. Powell's cautious tone suggests monetary policy may remain...
Oil prices jumped almost 3% on Thursday as a week-old air war between Israel and Iran escalated and uncertainty about potential U.S. involvement kept investors on edge. Brent crude futures settled up $2.15, or 2.8%, to $78.85 a barrel, its highest close since January 22. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for July was up $2.06, or 2.7%, to $77.20 at 1330 EST (1730 GMT). Trading volumes were light on Thursday due to a U.S. federal holiday. Israel bombed nuclear targets in Iran on Thursday, and Iran fired missiles and drones at Israel after hitting an Israeli hospital overnight. There was...
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...