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 USD/JPY pair moves higher to near 149.00 in North American trading hours on Thursday. The pair gains as the US Dollar (USD) rallies sharply in the aftermath of the Federal Reserve's (Fed) monetary policy outcome. The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback's value against six major currencies, jumps to near 104.00 after attracting significant bids near the five-month low of 103.20. On Wednesday, the Fed kept interest rates unchanged in the range of 4.25%-4.50%, as expected, for the second time in a row. The central bank also maintained its forecast of two interest rate cuts...
Oil prices rose on Thursday after the United States issued new Iran-related sanctions and renewed tensions in the Middle East countered strength in the dollar. Brent crude futures were up $1.03, or 1.46%, to $71.83 a barrel at 12:13 p.m. EDT (1613 GMT). The U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) contract for April, expiring on Thursday, rose $1.07 to $68.23. The more actively traded WTI May contract rose 99 cents, or 1.48%, to $67.90, having risen more than $1 during the session. The U.S. on Thursday issued new Iran-related sanctions, targeting entities including for the first time a...
The AUD/USD pair plummets to near 0.6280 during North American trading hours on Thursday. The Aussie pair faces an intense sell-off as the Australian Dollar (AUD) underperforms its peers due to weak employment data for February.The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that the labor force unexpectedly witnessed a massive lay-off. Australian employers fired 52.8K workers, while economists expected a fresh addition of 30K. In January, the economy added 30.5K payrolls, downwardly revised from 44K. The Unemployment Rate remains steady at 4.1%, as expectedWeak employment data has resulted in...
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the performance of the US Dollar (USD) against six major currencies, rallies above 104.00 on Thursday after the weekly jobcless claims data. Borrowing costs were kept unchanged overnight by the Federal Reserve (Fed), and projected two interest rate cuts for 2025. During Wednesday's Fed meeting, Chairman Jerome Powell said that any tariff-driven bump in inflation will be "transitory." However, he added later that it will be very challenging to say with confidence how much inflation stems from tariffs versus other factors. He also said recession odds...
Gold (XAU/USD) price managed to reach an all-time high of $3,057 before dropping nearly 0.50% to around $3,041 at the time of writing on Thursday (3/20). Despite selling pressure from profit-taking, the previous uptick came after the Federal Reserve (Fed) interest rate decision overnight, where the central bank kept interest rates unchanged in the range of 4.25%-4.50%. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell reiterated that tariffs should only delay the time to achieve inflation targets. Meanwhile, on the geopolitical front, tensions are rising in Gaza and Turkey. Israel continues its attacks on Gaza...
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...