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...
Gold held steady on Wednesday ahead of a key U.S. inflation data that could help gauge the Federal Reserve's interest rate path amid trade tensions and economic slowdown fears, while attention was also on a potential ceasefire deal in Ukraine. Spot gold was flat at $2,915.65 an ounce as of 0455 GMT, while U.S. gold futures were steady at $2,921.00. Investors await U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) data due later in the day to analyse the Fed's interest rate stance going forward this year. If rising price pressures force the Fed to keep interest rates higher, gold may lose its allure as it...
Oil prices edged up on Wednesday, buoyed by a weaker dollar, but mounting fears of a U.S. economic slowdown and the impact of tariffs on global economic growth capped gains. Brent futures rose 51 cents, or 0.7%, to $70.07 a barrel at 0430 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 52 cents, or 0.8%, to $66.77 a barrel. Despite the weakening economic outlook, oil held steady in a positive position, said Daniel Hynes, senior commodity strategist at ANZ. "That's a sign that near-term demand for crude remains strong." The dollar index, which fell 0.5% to fresh 2025 lows on...
The Japanese Yen (JPY) sticks to its negative bias against a mildly positive US Dollar (USD), allowing the USD/JPY pair to gain some positive traction for the second straight day on Tuesday and hold steady above the 148.00 mark through the Asian session. Concerns that Trump could impose fresh tariffs on Japan, along with a generally positive tone around the equity markets, turn out to be key factors undermining the safe-haven JPY. Data released earlier today showed that Japan's annual wholesale inflation – Producer Price Index (PPI) – rose 4.0% in February, underscoring broadening...
Gold price (XAU/USD) trades near the weekly high during the Asian session on Wednesday and looks to build on the previous day's goodish rebound from the $2,880 region, or a one-week low. Investors remain worried about the potential economic fallout from US President Donald Trump's trade tariffs, which, in turn, is seen as a key factor that continues to underpin the safe-haven bullion. Moreover, expectations that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will cut interest rates several times this year amid concerns about a tariff-driven slowdown in the US economic activity lend additional support to the...
The Australian Dollar (AUD) weakens against the US Dollar (USD) on Wednesday, weighed down by broad risk aversion. Concerns intensified due to policy shifts by US President Donald Trump, particularly tariffs that increased the likelihood of a prolonged trade war. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated on Wednesday that "Australia will not impose reciprocal tariffs on the United States (US)" as "retaliatory measures would only raise costs for Australian consumers and drive inflation. His remarks follow Trump's decision to implement a 25% tariff on all imported steel and...
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...