The United States Federal Reserve (Fed) will announce its monetary policy decision and publish its revised Summary of Economic Projections (SEP), known as the dot plot, after its September policy meeting on Wednesday. Market participants widely anticipate the US central bank will cut its benchmark interest rate for the first time since last December, lowering it to a range of 4%-4.25%. The CME FedWatch Tool shows that investors see only about a 6% chance of a larger rate cut, while pricing in about an 80% chance of a 75 basis point (bps) cut for the remainder of the year. This means the...
The emerging divide among Federal Reserve officials over the outlook for interest rates is being driven largely by differing expectations for how tariffs might affect inflation, a record of policymakers' most recent meeting showed. "While a few participants noted that tariffs would lead to a one-time increase in prices and would not affect longer-term inflation expectations, most participants noted the risk that tariffs could have more persistent effects on inflation," the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee's June 17-18 meeting said. New rate projections released...
U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell resumed two days of congressional testimony on Wednesday, appearing before the Senate Banking Committee after scrutiny before a House panel the day before that focused on the Fed's concerns that the Trump administration's tariff plans will raise inflation. Powell's prepared testimony submitted to the Senate was the same as that delivered to the House Financial Services Committee, the Fed said as the Senate hearing began. Even with recent inflation more moderate than expected, the central bank expects rising import taxes will lead to higher inflation...
The Bank of England kept its key interest rate on hold at 4.25% during its Thursday meeting, with economists expecting the central bank to wait until August before it cuts again. Six out of nine of the BOE's monetary policy committee opted to hold rates with three opting for a 25-basis-points cut. "Underlying UK GDP [gross domestic product] growth appears to have remained weak, and the labour market has continued to loosen, leading to clearer signs that a margin of slack has opened up over time," the central bank said in a statement. "Measures of pay growth have continued to moderate and,...
The Swiss National Bank (SNB) cut its policy rate by 25 bps to 0% in June 2025, as expected, setting borrowing costs at zero for the first time since negative rates in late 2022. The move came amid easing inflationary pressures and a weakening global economic outlook. Consumer prices in Switzerland fell by 0.1% in May, marking the first decline in four years, mainly driven by lower prices in tourism and oil products. The SNB now projects average inflation at 0.2% for 2025, 0.5% for 2026, and 0.7% for 2027. Swiss GDP also posted strong growth in the first quarter of 2025, partly supported...
The United States (US) Federal Reserve (Fed) announced on Wednesday that it left the policy rate, federal funds rate, unchanged at the range of 4.25%-4.5% following the June policy meeting. This decision came in line with the market expectation. Source: Fxstreet
Asia-Pacific markets traded higher, tracking Wall Street gains overnight.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.41% after hitting a fresh record high on Thursday, while the Topix added 0.61%. South...
Both the STOXX 50 and STOXX 600 hovered around the flatline on Friday, as investors adopted a cautious stance ahead of further developments in trade talks between US President Trump and Chinese...
The United States has rejected India's request for consultations at the World Trade Organization (WTO) regarding Washington's 50% tariffs on copper and copper derivative products, arguing that the...