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...
Oil was largely steady in choppy trade on Thursday with global benchmark Brent still below $70 a barrel under pressure from tariffs between the U.S., Canada, and China, and OPEC+ plans to raise output. Brent futures were up 8 cents, or 0.1%, at $69.38 a barrel by 1:40 p.m. ET (1840 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures eased 6 cents, or 0.1%, to $66.24. Brent hit $68.33 on Wednesday, its weakest since December 2021, after a larger-than-expected build in U.S. crude inventories added to the bearish news earlier in the week of OPEC+'s hike in output quotas for the first time...
The US Dollar Index (DXY) is extending its losing streak on Thursday as fresh labor market and trade data put additional pressure on the Greenback. Job cuts surged dramatically, while weekly jobless claims showed a mixed picture of the labor market. Meanwhile, the European Central Bank (ECB) delivered a widely anticipated rate cut, with President Christine Lagarde emphasizing the need for heightened vigilance in uncertain economic conditions.US Dollar down after an additional round of soft labor data, ECBThe latest Challenger Job Cuts report for February revealed a sharp rise in layoffs,...
Gold prices fell about 1% on Thursday as investors booked profits after a three-day rally, with markets eyeing US jobs data for clues on the Federal Reserve's interest rate path amid rising global trade tensions. Spot gold, which was down 0.5% at $2,904.51 an ounce by 1211 GMT, has gained more than 10% this year. It hit a record high of $2,956.15 on Feb. 24. US gold futures also fell 0.5% to $2,912.10. "Gold appears to be seeing some profit-taking as investors watch tariff developments with prices trading near $2,900 ahead of the nonfarm payrolls report," said Lukman Otunuga, senior...
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the performance of the US Dollar (USD) against a basket of six major currencies, faced a significant shift in its trading regime this week. The index was trading near 104.00 at the time of writing on Thursday (06/03). Several banks and traders reported that large clients were repatriating their offshore US Dollar-denominated investments back into their domestic currencies. This may mean that those volumes will not return anytime soon, the FT reported. The repatriation comes after weak US economic data that has left markets worried about the potential...
Oil prices were steady on Thursday after falling for the past four sessions as U.S. tariffs on Canadian crude supplies are likely to be eased, but investors remain wary of remaining tariffs on Mexico and major producers' plans to increase output. Brent crude futures were trading up 42 cents, or 0.61%, at $69.72 a barrel by 0144 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 40 cents, or 0.6%, at $66.71 a barrel. Brent has plunged 6.5% in the previous four sessions, falling to its lowest since December 2021 on Wednesday, while WTI has dropped 5.8% over the same period to its...
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...