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 U.S. dollar rose against major currencies on Tuesday following better-than-expected retail sales data that pointed to underlying economic momentum as markets braced for interest rate moves from the Federal Reserve and other central banks. Commerce Department data on Tuesday showed U.S. retail sales beat expectations by rising 0.7% in November, supported by a surge in auto and online purchases. Markets expect the Fed to deliver a 25 basis point rate cut at the conclusion of its two-day policy meeting on Wednesday, with futures implying a nearly 97% chance of a cut, according to the CME...
Gold prices were steady in early Asian trading on Wednesday (12/18) as markets awaited the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision, with a rate cut widely expected. The future direction of monetary policy remains uncertain, especially given potential inflationary pressures, FlowCommunity's Ruben Ferreira wrote in a note. Upcoming policy decisions from other major central banks such as the Bank of Japan are among the factors that could influence the precious metal's trajectory in the coming months, Ferreira said. Gold typically has an inverse relationship to interest rates, with higher...
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices were trading around $69.70 on Wednesday (12/18). WTI prices moved lower amid fresh concerns about Chinese demand. Investors remained cautious ahead of the US Federal Reserve's interest rate decision on Wednesday. Disappointing Chinese Retail Sales raised concerns about weakening consumer spending in China, the world's largest oil importer. "The bearish momentum generated by the Chinese data has crushed speculators' hopes of breaking out of the upper two-month range," said Robert Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho...
The bullish momentum behind the Euro evaporated on Tuesday, dragging the pair back below the 1.0500 level as traders prepare for the Federal Reserve's (Fed) final interest rate decision in 2024. European data was relatively light this week, forcing Fiber traders to navigate a slew of US data. The Euro market largely ignored the appearances of several European Central Bank (ECB) officials earlier in the week, and despite December's European PMI figures beating expectations. The pan-EU Services PMI survey figures remained in contraction as concerns over a deepening economic slowdown in Europe...
Gold price dropped to a new weekly low of $2,633 on Tuesday following the release of strong Retail Sales data in the United States. This weighed on investors' expectations of the Federal Reserve (Fed), which is expected to adopt a gradual approach to easing in 2025. At the time of writing, the XAU/USD trades at $2,637, down 0.57%.The Fed has begun its two-day meeting in Washington, DC, and is expected to lower interest rates by 25 basis points (bps) on Wednesday. The markets have already priced in the decision, but participants are looking for the Summary of Economic Projections (SEP) 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...