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...
China and the United States start their first major Trade War Two meeting on Saturday to pull back from what analysts describe as a lose-lose situation for their economies, without much clarity on what a win would look like for either side. China is at the epicentre of U.S. President Donald Trump's global trade war that has roiled financial markets, upended supply chains and fuelled risks of a sharp worldwide economic downturn. Washington wants to reduce its trade deficit with Beijing and convince China to renounce what the U.S. says is a mercantilist economic model and contribute more to...
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said the trade deal concluded between the United States and Britain was a good thing but still left tariffs on most British goods exports to the U.S. higher than they were before last month. Before details of the deal were announced on Thursday, the BoE published estimates showing U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff plans as of April 29 would shrink Britain's economy by about 0.3% over three years. Around two thirds of the hit was due to the direct impact of tariffs in reducing demand for British exports in the United States and elsewhere, while the...
U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff agenda is likely to push up inflation, weigh on employment, and dent growth later this year, according to Federal Reserve Governor Michael Barr. Should prices and unemployment begin to rise, the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee may be in a more difficult position as they assess their next policy moves, Barr added in prepared remarks to the Central Bank of Iceland on Friday. "The size and scope of the recent tariff increases are without modern precedent, we don't know their final form, and it is too soon to know how they will affect the...
China's Vice Foreign Minister Hua Chunying said on Friday (May 9) that "China has 'full confidence' in its ability to manage the US trade issues." Additional quotes The US cannot 'keep doing what it is doing' on trade policy. China does not want 'any form of war with other countries'. China has 'full ability to overcome difficulties' amid trade war. 'Ordinary people' in China do not want a trade war but are confident. On US trade talks, 'if we have to face reality, come on. We are not afraid.' The comments come ahead of high-level trade talks between the US and China in Geneva,...
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said that trade deals with South Korea and Japan could take significantly more time to complete than the framework agreement President Donald Trump announced Thursday with the UK, in a signal that some Asian partners may have to wait for tariff relief. "You've got to spend an enormous amount of time with Japan, South Korea. These are not going to be fast deals," Lutnick said in an interview on Bloomberg Television. Lutnick added that India has been "leaning in really hard" and the country was "certainly" a possibility to be among the...
U.S. President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday announced a limited bilateral trade agreement that leaves in place Trump's 10% tariffs on British exports, modestly expands agricultural access for both countries and lowers prohibitive U.S. duties on British car exports. The preliminary deal is the first of dozens of tariff-lowering deals that Trump expects to land in coming weeks after upending the global trading system with steep new import taxes aimed at shrinking a $1.2 trillion U.S. goods trade deficit. Trump hailed the deal in the Oval Office with...
Initial jobless claims fell by 13,000 to 228,000 in the week ended May 3, the Labor Department said Thursday. That's a return to recent trends. Despite uncertainty over trade policy, companies are not moving to cut cuts through layoffs. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had estimated new claims would fall by 11,000 to 230,000. This is breaking news. Check back for updates here. BX:TMUBMUSD10Y SPX -Greg Robb This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street...
Pakistan shot down 12 drones from India that violated its airspace, the military said on Thursday, a day after Indian strikes on multiple targets in the country fanned fears of a larger military conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbours. India sent Israeli Harop drones to multiple locations, including the two largest cities of Karachi and Lahore, and their debris is being collected, Pakistan military spokesperson Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said. "Indian drones continue to be sent into Pakistan airspace...(India) will continue to pay dearly for this naked aggression," he said. India's...
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....