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...
Silver prices rose about 3.5% to over $53 an ounce on Wednesday, their highest level in nearly three weeks, supported by growing expectations that the Federal Reserve will continue to cut interest rates this year. Optimism over the imminent end of the US government shutdown, which will allow for the release of new economic data, also fueled this speculation. The market currently rates the chance of a 25-bps Fed rate cut in December at about 65%, up from about 62% the day before. Meanwhile, supply pressures are expected to persist, with demand likely to increase amid the start of the Indian...
Gold strengthened as traders weighed the imminent end of the U.S. government shutdown and the outlook for the Fed's interest rate direction. U.S. House members returned to Washington on Wednesday to vote on ending the 43-day government shutdown. The legislation, a compromise forged in the Senate and approved by President Donald Trump, would reopen the federal government and fund some agencies, but does not include an extension of the enhanced Obamacare premium tax credit. Treasury yields eased slightly and the U.S. dollar pared its gains. This helped lift bullion by up to 1.5%, as lower...
Oil prices plunged the most in a month as key market indicators pointed to weakness and OPEC said global crude supply was outpacing demand faster than anticipated. West Texas Intermediate crude fell more than 3%, erasing three sessions of gains. The US benchmark's near-term futures briefly traded in a so-called bearish contango structure—meaning oil prices are currently cheaper than contracts for delivery further out—for the first time since February, a new sign of a long-anticipated oversupply. OPEC revised its estimate for the global oil market to a surplus in the third quarter from a...
The US currency remained near a five-month high after US employment data posted a surprising increase, with private sector employment increasing by about 42,000 in October, exceeding economists' expectations of 28,000. This increase reinforces the market's belief that the Federal Reserve (the Fed) will pause or delay its monetary policy stance, making the dollar attractive relative to other currencies. However, the dollar is not completely unhindered. US consumer sentiment fell to a three-year low due to the prolonged government shutdown and concerns about a weakening labor market. This...
Gold (XAU/USD) trades little changed on Wednesday, consolidating gains near a three-week high as investors adopt a wait-and-see approach ahead of a crucial US congressional vote to end the record-long government shutdown. At the time of writing, XAU/USD is trading around $4,130, with market participants staying on the sidelines amid subdued risk appetite. The US House of Representatives is set to vote later on Wednesday on a stopgap funding bill aimed at reopening the government and ending the record-long shutdown. The proposal would keep most federal agencies funded through January 30,...
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...