The US dollar index fluctuated around 98.4 on Friday (December 19) and is expected to close the week relatively unchanged. Investors are still weighing the chances of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut next year, as inflation continues to decline and signs of weakness in the US labor market emerge. The latest inflation data indicates price pressures are easing. The November CPI report showed headline inflation fell to 2.7%, the lowest since July and below market expectations. Core inflation also weakened to 2.6%, the slowest pace since early 2021. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate rose to...
Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller is emerging as a top candidate to be the central bank's next chair, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. Waller has met with members of President Donald Trump's team, who are impressed with him, though he has not met with the president, Bloomberg News reported. A Fed spokesperson had no comment. "President Trump will continue to nominate the most competent and experienced individuals to deliver on his pledge to Make America Wealthy Again," White House spokesperson Kush Desai said. "Unless it comes from...
Initial jobless claims in the US rose by 7,000 from the previous week to 226,000 in the last week of July, firmly above market expectations of a softer increase to 221,000. In turn, outstanding jobless claims soared by 38,000 to 1,974,000 on the previous week, well above market expectations of 1,950,000 to mark the highest level of unemployment since November 2021. The results consolidated the view of a sharp slowdown in hiring and a softening labor market. Source: Trading Economics
Switzerland's government will hold an emergency meeting on Thursday to decide its next move after its president returned home empty-handed from an 11th-hour trip to Washington aimed at averting a crippling 39% U.S. import tariff on Swiss goods. An urgent meeting of the seven-member Federal Council - Switzerland's governing cabinet - will take place in Bern in the early afternoon, the government said a post on X. Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter left Washington on Wednesday without a new deal and did not meet with U.S. President Donald Trump or any of his top trade officials, two sources...
A worst-case scenario for India on U.S. tariffs is now the base case. New Delhi called Donald Trump's decision on Wednesday to double the levy on the South Asian nation's goods to 50% because of its Russian oil purchases "extremely unfortunate". That's an understatement. Negotiating down this high rate before it goes into effect in three weeks is now an urgent priority for Narendra Modi - and will require a major compromise from the Indian leader. The new rate can inflict serious pain on the $4 trillion economy. New Delhi failed to lower the initial 25% tariff unveiled by the U.S. president...
Donald Trump said he would impose a 100% tariff on semiconductor imports, though it would exempt companies that move production back to the United States, as Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook and the president announced a $100 billion new investment plan from the Oval Office. "We're going to have a very large tariff on chips and semiconductors, but the good news for companies like Apple is, if you're building in the United States, or have committed to building, without question, committed to building in the United States, there will be no cost," Trump told reporters. "So in other words, we're going...
The United States will impose a tariff of about 100% on semiconductor chips imported into the country, President Donald Trump said on Wednesday. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that the new tariff rate would apply to "all chips and semiconductors coming into the United States," but would not apply to companies that had made a commitment to manufacture in the United States. "So 100% tariff on all chips and semiconductors coming into the United States. But if you've made a commitment to build (in the U.S.), or if you're in the process of building (in the U.S.), as many are, there is...
President Donald Trump is open to meeting Vladimir Putin as soon as next week, a White House official said on Wednesday, as the U.S. maintained plans to impose secondary sanctions on Friday in an effort to pressure Moscow to end the war in Ukraine. The New York Times (NYSE:NYT) reported that Trump would hold a trilateral meeting with Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy after meeting with the Russian leader. The report said the plans were disclosed to European leaders, including Zelenskiy, on Wednesday. "The Russians expressed their desire to meet with President Trump, and...
India is struggling to cope with the economic fallout from President Donald Trump's tariff threats, which have left officials in New Delhi shocked, disappointed, and unsure how to respond. Trump's harsh language, calling India's economy "dead," its tariff barriers "obnoxious," and its people indifferent to the plight of the Ukrainian people, was like a slap in the face, according to an official in New Delhi, who asked not to be named because the discussions were private. Officials don't have a pattern for dealing with this kind of public attack, the person said, adding that the latest...
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....