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 rose from a seven-month low against the yen on Thursday as U.S.-Japan trade talks avoided a foreign exchange scare, while it gained slightly against other currencies ahead of the long Easter holiday. The dollar has been battered this month as the U.S. threatened, imposed and then delayed massive tariffs, denting confidence in U.S. economic growth and stability. The Swiss franc's nearly 8% gain since April 2 is the biggest among G10 currencies and at 0.8167 per dollar, it is close to testing resistance at a decade-high of 0.81. The euro and yen are not far behind with gains of...
The USD/CHF pair attempted to recover from recent losses recorded in the previous session, trading around 0.8160 during the Asian trading hours on Thursday (4/17). However, the pair remained close to the 0.8099 mark—its lowest level since September 2011, touched on April 11. The US dollar (USD) continued to face headwinds as investor uncertainty persisted over the unpredictable nature of US trade and economic policies. In contrast, the Swiss franc (CHF) was supported by safe-haven inflows, further pressuring the USD/CHF pair. Tensions escalated after US President Donald Trump launched an...
Oil prices extended gains on Thursday on the prospect of tighter supplies after Washington imposed more sanctions to curb Iran's oil trade and as some OPEC producers pledged more output cuts to offset pumping above agreed quotas. Brent crude futures rose 55 cents, or 0.8%, to $66.40 a barrel by 0321 GMT, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were at $63.13 a barrel, up 66 cents, or 1.1%. Both benchmarks closed 2% higher on Wednesday at their highest since April 3 and were on track for their first weekly gain in three weeks. Thursday is the last settlement day in the week ahead of...
Gold prices fell on Thursday as investors took profits after bullion hit a record high earlier in the session as curbs on chip sales to China and ongoing tariff uncertainty boosted demand for safe-haven assets. Spot gold fell 0.1% to $3,339.37 an ounce by 0312 GMT, after hitting a record high of $3,357.40 earlier in the session. Bullion has gained more than 3% this week. U.S. gold futures rose 0.2% to $3,351.50. "Everything is going in gold's favor, pushing prices to new record highs. Although the decline is justified, the precious metal is poised for further gains as the trade turmoil...
GBP/USD ended its seven-day winning streak, weakening to around 1.3230 during the Asian session on Thursday (4/17) after falling from a six-month high of 1.3292 reached on Wednesday. Traders now await the release of key US data later in the day, including Building Permits, Housing Starts, Philly Fed Manufacturing Index, and weekly Initial Jobless Claims. The US Dollar Index (DXY) is trading higher near 99.60 at the time of writing, supported by stronger-than-expected consumer spending in March. US Retail Sales rose 1.4% in March, beating February's 0.2% increase and the 1.3% forecast. The...
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...