The US dollar index fluctuated around 98.4 on Thursday, but remained within the previous session's strengthening zone. The market appeared cautious as investors began to position themselves ahead of the November US CPI release, which is expected to show price pressures remain above the Fed's target. Mixed US labor data earlier this week hasn't significantly changed the market outlook—investors still expect at least one interest rate cut in the future. Fed official Christopher Waller said there's still room to cut rates due to signs the labor market is softening, while Raphael Bostic was...
US applications for unemployment benefits rose to their highest level since June, adding to evidence that the labor market is cooling. Initial claims rose 8,000 to 237,000 in the week ending August 30. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists was for 230,000 applications. Continuing claims, a proxy for the number of people receiving benefits, were little changed at 1.94 million in the previous week, according to Labor Department data released Thursday. Companies are increasingly hesitant to hire as they assess the economic impact of President Donald Trump's policies. Hiring...
Hiring at US companies was lower than expected in August, consistent with other evidence of weakening labor demand. Private-sector jobs increased by 54,000, according to ADP Research data released Thursday. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists was for a gain of 68,000. (alg) Source: Bloomberg
U.S. economic activity and employment were mostly little changed or unchanged in recent weeks while prices rose moderately or modestly, the Federal Reserve said on Wednesday, a mixed report that highlighted the impact of tariffs and other Trump administration policies on households and businesses as the central bank weighs a cut in interest rates this month. "Contacts frequently cited economic uncertainty and tariffs as negative factors," according to the Fed's "Beige Book" report, a snapshot of the nation's economic health published two weeks ahead of each central bank policy meeting....
US job openings fell in July to the lowest in 10 months, adding to other data that shows a gradually diminishing appetite for workers amid heightened policy uncertainty. Available positions decreased to 7.18 million from a downwardly revised 7.36 million reading in June, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data published Wednesday. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 7.38 million openings. Source: Bloomberg
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will urge stronger pressure on Moscow when he meets with allies in Denmark and France on Wednesday after Russian forces launched a massive airstrike on Ukraine, damaging energy and transport infrastructure. Russia launched more than 500 drones and dozens of missiles, hitting infrastructure at 14 locations across the country and injuring four railway workers, regional and Ukrainian military officials said. "This is clearly a demonstrative attack by Russia. Only because of the lack of adequate pressure, especially on Russia's war economy, does this aggression...
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) will release the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) on Wednesday. This publication will provide data on changes in the number of job openings in July, along with the number of layoffs and resignations. Markets expect the number of job openings to decline slightly to 7.4 million in July, compared to 7.437 million in June. The JOLTS will be released a few days before another important employment report, the August Nonfarm Payrolls data, which will be released on Friday. The latest BLS US employment report showed that nonfarm payrolls rose...
Australia's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rose 0.6% QoQ in the second quarter (Q2) of 2025 compared with the 0.3% growth in the first quarter (revised from 0.2%), the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed on Wednesday. This reading came in stronger than the expectations of 0.5% expansion. The annual second-quarter GDP grew by 1.8%, compared with the 1.4% growth in Q1 (revised from 1.3%), while above the consensus of a 1.6% increase. Market reaction to Australia's GDP data The upbeat Australia GDP report provides some support to the Australian Dollar (AUD). The AUD/USD pair is...
U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday doubled down on his criticism of India, calling trade ties with the country "a totally one sided disaster!" after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited China to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit. Trump in a post on Truth Social also said that India had offered to cut its tariffs to zero, but it was "getting late," and that the country should have done so "years ago," without elaborating on when such an offer was made. This comes against the backdrop of the U.S. imposing 50% tariffs on the country, including secondary duties of...
Gold rises in the early Asian trade. There's a broad commodities uptrend, driven by macro uncertainty, a weaker dollar, and persistent demand for "hard" assets, says Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst...
Oil extended declines after OPEC+ agreed to a bigger-than-expected production increase next month, raising concerns about oversupply just as US tariffs fan fears about the demand outlook.
Brent...
The Japanese Yen (JPY) weakened against its US counterpart and reversed part of Friday's recovery from the lowest level since July 23 following Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Kazuo Ueda's remarks....