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 prices fell on Wednesday (December 31st), posting a nearly 20% annual loss, as expectations of oversupply grew in a year marked by war, higher tariffs, increased OPEC+ production, and sanctions against Russia, Iran, and Venezuela. Brent crude futures fell about 19% in 2025, the most substantial annual percentage decline since 2020 and the third consecutive year of losses, the longest streak on record. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude posted a nearly 20% annual decline. On the final day of the year, Brent futures closed at $60.85 per barrel, down 48 cents, or 0.8%. U.S. WTI...
Gold (XAU/USD) prices fell slightly on the final trading day of 2025, trading near $4,310 per troy ounce during Wednesday's European session. Non-yielding precious metals, including gold, lost ground after the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) December meeting, released on Tuesday, indicated a deep split within the committee. Some Federal Reserve (Fed) officials have said it may be best to leave interest rates unchanged for the time being after the committee delivered three rate cuts this year. However, some policymakers believe it may be appropriate to refrain from...
The US Dollar Index (DXY) remained slightly higher in a quiet year-end session on Wednesday. However, it has lost most of its intraday gains, having peaked at 98.44, and is trading near 98.25 ahead of the US open. The DXY, which measures the greenback against a basket of six currencies, is trading about 2% below its November peak of 100.40 and is on track for a nearly 10% annual decline, its weakest performance in eight years. The US dollar has been one of the weakest performers in the G8 in 2025. Investor concerns about the impact of US President Donald Trump's erratic trade policies and...
EUR/USD loses ground for the sixth consecutive day on Wednesday, trading below 1.1730 after peaking above 1.1800 last week. The pair struggles amid a moderate US Dollar (USD) rebound following the release of December's Federal Reserve Monetary Policy Meeting minutes. From a wider perspective, however, the common currency remains on track to a 14% yearly appreciation, boosted by the monetary policy divergence between the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Fed. Apart from that, US President Donald Trump's erratic trade policies and the softening US economy have weighed heavily on the...
The US Dollar Index (DXY) remains marginally higher in a quiet year-end session on Wednesday. Still, the Index has given away most of the daily gains, after peaking at 98.44, and trades near 98.25 heading into the US session opening. The DXY, which measures the value of the greenback against a basket of six currencies, is trading about 2% below November's peak, at 100.40, and on track to a nearly 10% yearly depreciation, its weakest performance in the last eight years. The US Dollar has been one of the weakest G8 performers in 2025Investors' concerns about the impact of US President Donald...
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...