US Stocks plunged on Friday, as investors reacted to a weak July jobs report and a fresh round of tariffs announced by President Trump. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq fell 1.6% and 2.2%, their steepest drops since April, while the Dow lost 542 points. Payrolls rose by just 73,000 in July, far below expectations, with sharp downward revisions to prior months signaling deeper labor market weakness. Treasury yields fell and the odds of a September Fed rate cut rose above 80%. Sentiment worsened after new tariffs of 10% to 41% were imposed on imports from key partners including Canada, India, and...
The key issue is whether Governor Michele Bullock heeds market assessments that last week's unexpectedly weak third-quarter GDP is a game-changer for the economic and inflation outlook The data showed Australia's economy grew at its slowest pace since 1991 — excluding the exogenous shock of the Covid pandemic. And it confirmed that GDP growth is slowing much more than the 2012-13 slump — which came just after the RBA last started an easing cycle. The RBA is widely expected to leave policy unchanged on Tuesday. However, the GDP figures prompted OIS traders to view February as a coin toss...
Oil prices climbed more than 1.5% on Monday on higher geopolitical risk after the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and as top importer China flagged its first move towards a loosened monetary policy stance since 2010. Brent crude futures were up $1.17, or 1.7%, to $72.30 per barrel at 12:50 p.m. ET (1451 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up $1.34, or 2%, to $68.55. China's slowdown was a factor behind the decision of oil producers' group OPEC+ last week to postpone its plans for higher output until April. Weighing on prices, leading exporter Saudi Aramco...
Gold prices hit two-week highs on Monday, climbing more than 1% on renewed buying of the metal by China's central bank following a six-month hiatus, with bullishness increased by anticipation of a U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate cut next week. Spot gold gained 1.1% to $2,662.98 per ounce, as of 01:41 p.m. ET (1841 GMT). U.S. gold futures settled 1% higher at $2,685.50. The resumption of Chinese buying may support investor demand in the country. In 2023, China was the world's largest official sector buyer of gold, but the PBOC paused its 18-month buying streak in May. Spot silver added...
Gold price (XAU/USD) nudges higher on Monday's early European session, favoured by its safe-aven status amid the increasing uncertainty in the Middle East after the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria. Beyond that, The People's Bank of China (PBoC) announced over the weekend that it resumed Gold purchases in November after a six-month pause, which is giving an additional boost to the precious metal. Data from the US released on Friday revealed that the country's labour market remains solid, but the increasing unemployment rate confirmed expectations that the Federal Reserve (Fed)...
The AUD/USD pair finds temporary support and advances to near 0.6420 in Monday's European session after posting a fresh four-month low near 0.6370 on Friday. The Aussie pair rebounds slightly with investors focusing on the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) monetary policy decision, which will be announced on Tuesday. Market experts expect the RBA to leave interest rates unchanged at 4.35% but would temper its hawkish tone as the Australian Q3 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth came in weaker-than-expected, a scenario that would be favorable for the Australian Dollar (AUD).Analysts at ANZ...