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 dollar headed for a weekly gain on most major peers on Friday as a U.S.-UK trade deal raised hopes of progress in looming U.S.-China talks, while bets of imminent Fed rate cuts receded after the central bank indicated it was in no hurry. Financial markets are heading into the weekend with the focus squarely on trade negotiations between Washington and Beijing due to begin on Saturday in Switzerland. The euro touched a one-month low of $1.1197 in Asia and was down about 0.6% for the week. The yen has weakened about 0.4% this week and hit a one-month trough of 146.18 per dollar, before...
The EUR/USD pair pared daily losses and traded around 1.1230 during the Asian session on Friday (09/05). The pair depreciated as the US dollar (USD) found support from upbeat US economic data and signs of easing trade tensions. US President Donald Trump announced a "major" trade deal with the United Kingdom (UK), although the headline tariffs remain at 10%, which has dampened market optimism. Attention now turns to initial US-China trade talks set for later this week in Switzerland, but both sides have downplayed expectations of a breakthrough. Trump continues to take a hardline stance on...
Government data released Friday showed that Japanese household spending rose 0.4% in March and 2.1% from a year earlier, both beating market expectations. Moreover, expectations that continued wage gains will boost consumer spending and inflation in Japan suggest that the Bank of Japan may not back off its interest rate hike plans altogether. In fact, minutes of the BoJ's monetary policy meeting held on March 18-19 revealed on Thursday that the central bank remains ready to raise interest rates further if inflation trends persist. This, in turn, bolstered the case for further policy...
Silver (XAG/USD) attracted some dip buyers near the $32.20 area during the Asian session on Friday (09/05) and climbed to a fresh intraday high in the last hour. However, the white metal remained within a broader trading range from the previous day and is currently trading just above the mid-$32.00s, up over 0.25% for the day. From a technical perspective, the recent price action along a descending channel constitutes the formation of a bullish flag pattern against the backdrop of a decent recovery from the $28.45 area, or the YTD low touched in April. Moreover, oscillators on the...
Oil prices were little changed on Friday morning after rising more than 3% in the previous session, as trade tensions between top oil consumers the U.S. and China showed signs of easing and Britain announced a "breakthrough" trade deal with the United States. Brent crude rose 7 cents, or 0.1%, to $62.91 a barrel while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 7 cents, or 0.1%, to $59.98 a barrel by 0121 GMT. On Thursday, Brent closed up 2.8%, or $1.72, and WTI gained 3.2%, or $1.84. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will meet with China's top economic official, Vice Premier He Lifeng, in...
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...