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 EUR/USD pair traded flat on Thursday, trading around 1.1596, as market liquidity thinned during the US Thanksgiving holiday. Despite the limited movement, pressure on the US dollar remained as expectations mounted that the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates soon. The combination of declining inflation, weak retail sales data, and declining consumer confidence has made the market increasingly confident that borrowing costs in the US will fall. According to the CME FedWatch Tool, the market now prices around an 85% chance of the Fed cutting interest rates by 25 basis points. This...
Global oil prices are still trending lower and are now heading for their longest monthly decline in more than two years. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is hovering around $59 per barrel, slightly above Wednesday's close before the Thanksgiving holiday in the US, while Brent is holding above $63 per barrel. The US oil benchmark is already on track for its fourth consecutive monthly decline in November, the longest since the first quarter of 2023. This price pressure reflects market concerns about demand and future supply policies. Meanwhile, market participants' attention is also focused on...
Gold prices have been stable but remain on track to rise for the fourth consecutive month. In Friday morning trading in Asia, gold bullion was trading around $4,163 per ounce, having risen more than 2% so far this week. Positive sentiment stems from expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next month. Comments from several Fed officials and the delayed release of economic data have made the market increasingly confident that borrowing costs will fall. Currently, swap market participants even assess a greater than 80% chance of a 0.25% interest rate cut in December. For...
Oil prices rose on Thursday (November 27) as market participants weighed the possibility of reaching a deal in negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, with trading volumes thin due to the Thanksgiving holiday in the US. Brent crude futures closed up 21 cents, or 0.2%, at $63.34 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 45 cents, or 0.8%, to $59.10 a barrel at 1:46 p.m. ET (18:46 GMT). The market is torn between hope and skepticism over renewed peace efforts in Ukraine, said SEB commodities analyst Ole Hvalbye. U.S. and Ukrainian delegations will meet this week to work on a...
Gold prices weakened slightly on Thursday (November 27th), after hitting a nearly two-week high in the previous session, as investors weighed the possibility of a US interest rate cut in December. Spot gold fell 0.2% to $4,157.29 per ounce, as of 16:01 GMT. US gold futures for December delivery fell 0.2% to $4,154.30 per ounce. "We still expect the consolidation that began with the price decline in October to continue as the impact of that price decline has not yet fully subsided," said Julius Baer analyst Carsten Menke. Bullion prices have fallen 5% since hitting a record high of...
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...