Sterling rose against a weakening dollar on Thursday with the markets watching whether the Bank of England will maintain its "gradual and careful" language on the pace of policy easing at its meeting due later in the day. That slow and steady path no longer looks so clear, with inflation above the BoE's projections and forecast by some economists to reach 4%, double the bank's target, in the coming months. Markets expect a 25-basis point rate cut, while pricing a total of 86 bps of rate cuts by December 2026. "Recent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC)-speak has leaned dovish, although it has...
Gold prices edged higher Thursday, aided by growing safe-haven demand after fresh tariff threats from U.S. President Donald Trump and weak U.S. economic data, which renewed bets on a Federal Reserve interest rate cut. At 04:30 ET (08:30 GMT), Spot Gold edged up 0.1% to $3,373.80 an ounce, while Gold Futures for December gained 0.4% to $3,447.90/oz. Trump threatens semiconductor tariffs Investor appetite for bullion strengthened after Trump said the U.S. would impose a 100% tariff on imported semiconductors from certain countries unless they invest in American chip manufacturing. The...
Oil prices steadied on Thursday, paring early gains after the Kremlin announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet U.S. President Donald Trump in the coming days, raising expectations for a diplomatic end to the war in Ukraine. Brent crude futures were up 21 cents, or 0.3%, at $67.1 a barrel by 0902 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 20 cents, or 0.3%, to $64.55. Both benchmarks slid about 1% on Wednesday, touching their lowest in eight weeks, after comments from Trump on progress in talks with Moscow. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said on Thursday that Trump and...