Oil prices fell on Friday (December 19th) and are expected to post a second straight weekly decline as potential oversupply and the prospect of a Russia-Ukraine peace deal outweigh concerns over disruptions caused by a Venezuelan oil tanker blockade. Brent crude futures fell 17 cents, or 0.28%, to $59.65 a barrel at 0915 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 31 cents, or 0.55%, to $55.84. On a weekly basis, Brent and WTI benchmarks fell 2.4% and 2.8%, respectively. Analysts widely project a global oil oversupply next year, driven by increased production from the...
Australia's Unemployment Rate was steady at 4.1% in May from 4.1% in April, official data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed on Thursday. The reading was in line with market consensus. Furthermore, Australia's Employment Change came in at -2.5K in May from 87.6K in April (revised from 89K), compared to consensus estimates of 25K. The participation rate in Australia eased to 67.0% in May, compared to 67.1% in April. Meanwhile, Full-Time Employment increased by 38.7K in the same period from 58.6K in the previous reading (revised from 59.5K). Part-Time Employment...
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday kept interest rates steady amid expectations of higher inflation and lower economic growth ahead, and still pointed to two reductions later this year. With markets expecting no chance of a central bank move this week, the Federal Open Market Committee kept its key borrowing rate targeted in a range between 4.25%-4.5%, where it has been since December. Along with the rate decision, the committee indicated, through its closely watched "dot plot," that two cuts by the end of 2025 are still on the table. However, it lopped off one reduction for both 2026 and...
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Wednesday that Fed policy makers expect inflation in goods prices to go up over the course of the summer as the impact of President Donald Trump's tariffs work their way to U.S. consumers. "We've had goods inflation just moving up a bit," Powell told a news conference after the Fed held rates unchanged. "We do expect to see more of that over the course of the summer." Powell said it takes time for tariffs to work through the goods chain of distribution, noting many goods being sold by retailers were imported months before tariffs were...
The Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said on Wednesday that the prospect of a new Canada-U.S. trade deal offers hope that tariffs will be removed, but cautioned that inflation could rise if tariffs stayed in place. U.S. President Donald Trump and Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney this week agreed to reach a trade deal between the two countries in 30 days that could possibly resolve a trade conflict triggered by U.S. tariffs and the subsequent Canadian counter duties. "Restoring open trade between our countries is critical to jobs and growth in Canada," said Macklem in a speech in the...
The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell to 245,000 in the week ended June 15, 2025. The figure was lower than the 246,000 estimate and the previous weekly revised 250,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. Source: Newsmaker23
British inflation slowed as expected in May, pulled down by air fares which leapt in April and the correction of a tax data error, although food prices shot up at the fastest rate in more than a year. Consumer prices rose in annual terms by 3.4% in May, the Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday, just as a Reuters poll of economists and the Bank of England had predicted. Services price inflation - a crucial metric for the BoE - cooled to 4.7% from 5.4% in April, matching the BoE's forecast for May. The Reuters poll had pointed to a reading of 4.8%. Earlier this month the ONS...
The UK's (UK) annual Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 3.4% in May after rising 3.5% in April, data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed on Wednesday. Markets had expected a 3.4% growth in the reported period. The reading was still short of the Bank of England's (BoE) target of 2%. Core CPI (excluding volatile food and energy) rose 3.5% year-on-year (YoY) in the same period, compared with a 3.8% acceleration in April, but missed the anticipated 3.6%.(alg) Source: FXstreet
US President Donald Trump claimed the US now has total and complete control of the skies over Iran via his social media platform, Truth Social. We now have total and complete control of the skies over Iran. Iran has great sky trackers and other defense equipment, and many, but nothing compares to the American-made, designed, and manufactured "stuff." Nobody does it better than the good ol' USA. We know exactly where the so-called "Supreme Leader" is hiding. He's an easy target, but safe there – We're not going to take him out (kill him!), at least not right now. But we don't want missiles...
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....