The US Dollar Index (DXY) continued its rise for the third consecutive session and hovered around 98.60 in European trading on Friday (December 19). Market participants are now awaiting the release of the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for December, which could provide additional clues about the direction of the economy and the dollar's movement. Despite its strength, the dollar's upside is considered limited as markets increasingly consider the possibility of a Fed interest rate cut after US inflation fell below forecasts. Data showed that US CPI in November slowed to 2.7%...
President Donald Trump attacked fiscal conservative Rand Paul as "crazy" on Tuesday morning as he urged reluctant Republican senators to move quickly on his massive tax and spending package. The Kentucky senator had previously said on CNBC that he would not vote for the bill signed by the president because it would raise the legal U.S. debt limit. "I disagree with that. It's not conservative," said Paul, who has also argued that the tax measure would add too much to the national debt. Trump quickly responded with a series of social media posts, saying the senator "never has a practical or...
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Beijing has a choice to be a reliable partner with the rest of the world or not, reiterating that China needs to shift to a more consumption-oriented economy to help ease global imbalances. "They want to be a reliable partner with the rest of the world, or they don't," Bessent said via video link to the American Swiss Foundation Leadership Summit in Zurich on Tuesday. "They're in the middle of a big real estate — I'm not going to be fearmongering and say crisis — but a big real estate development and the way for them to stabilize their economy is not...
Job openings in the United States rose by 191,000 to 7.391 million in April 2025, above market expectations of 7.10 million. The number of job openings increased in arts, entertainment, and recreation (+43,000) and in mining and logging (+10,000). On the other hand, The number of job openings decreased in accommodation and food services (-135,000) and in state and local government, education (-51,000). Regarding regional distribution, job openings rose in the Northeast (116K), the South (127K), and in the West (33K), but fell in the Midwest (-85K). Meanwhile, both hires and total...
Global growth faces an "increasingly challenging" outlook due to potential headwinds from sweeping tariffs denting the U.S. economy, the OECD flagged in a statement lowering its estimate for economic activity this year. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development slashed its projections for global gross domestic product growth for 2025 to 2.9% from an earlier estimate of 3.1%. Expected global GDP is also tipped to grow by 2.9% next year, down from a prior estimate of 3.0%. Increases in trade barriers and elevated policy uncertainty all pose "significant risks" to growth in...
Britain's trade minister Jonathan Reynolds will meet U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on Tuesday to discuss the implementation of a trade deal that has been complicated by the announcement of fresh U.S. tariffs on steel. Reynolds will review recently agreed deals with counterparts from the U.S. and EU, Britain's two biggest trading partners, during a three-day trip to Paris and Brussels this week. The deals struck last month are both political pacts rather than formal trade agreements, and the details of their implementation have not been set out. Starmer and U.S. President Donald...
The Trump administration is reportedly working to deliver on a final trade deal deadline set for Wednesday. A draft letter to various U.S. trading partners sets the deadline so close, Reuters reports, to try and push for faster trade talks as the U.S. scrambles to unveil a major trade deal the administration says is imminent. Trump's team is pushing for a deal to avoid its own tariffs Time is running out for the Trump team to secure, finalize and announce trade deals with other countries that support Donald Trump's "America First" campaign pledge. The White House has temporarily suspended...
A group of small businesses that won a ruling that most of President Donald Trump's global tariffs are illegal wants the tariffs blocked during the government's appeal, saying they are suffering direct harm from economic uncertainty. In a filing Monday with the U.S. Court of International Trade, which last week ruled that Trump exceeded his authority in imposing broad trade levies, the groups opposed the administration's request to keep the tariffs in place during its appeal. The appeals process is likely to drag on for months, so a pause would be a win for the White House. It's unclear...
The ISM Manufacturing PMI in the US fell to 48.5 in May 2025 from 48.7 in April, below market expectations of 49.5. The reading marked the third consecutive month of contraction in the manufacturing sector and the sharpest decline since November 2024, highlighting mounting economic uncertainty and sustained cost pressures, partly driven by volatile trade policies under the Trump administration. Output, new orders, employment, and backlog of orders all declined but at a slower pace, while new export sales dropped more sharply. Meanwhile, the Inventories Index slipped into contraction...
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....