President Donald Trump locked horns with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell during a rare presidential visit to the U.S. central bank on Thursday, criticizing the cost of renovating two historical buildings at its headquarters and pressing the case for lower interest rates. Trump, who called Powell a "numbskull" earlier this week for failing to heed the White House's demand for a large reduction in borrowing costs, wrapped up his visit to the Fed's $2.5 billion building project in Washington by saying he did not intend to fire Powell, as he has frequently suggested he would. "To do so is...
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the performance of the US Dollar (USD) against a basket of six major currencies, extended its decline for the third straight day this week and was trading near 105.00 at the time of writing on Wednesday (05/03), its lowest level since early November. The down move came as traders further reduced their exposure to the Dollar across the board now that some analysts are calling for an end to US exceptionalism amid concerns that US President Donald Trump's tariffs could hurt economic growth. The move comes ahead of the European Central Bank's (ECB)...
Oil prices fell for a third day on Wednesday, as investors worried about OPEC+'s plan to continue raising output in April, and U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs on Canada, China and Mexico escalated trade tensions. Brent crude futures fell $1.02, or 1.44%, to settle at $70.02 a barrel by 1149 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell $1.33, or 1.95%, to settle at $66.93 a barrel. Crude prices closed near their lowest levels in months the previous day, weighed down by expectations that U.S. tariffs and retaliatory tariffs by affected countries would slow economic growth...
EUR/USD strengthened above 1.0700 during the European session on Wednesday (05/03), the highest level seen this year. The major currency pair strengthened as the Euro (EUR) strengthened across the board after Germany's next chancellor candidate, Frederich Merz, and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) agreed to create a €500 billion (EUR) infrastructure fund and expand borrowing limits on Tuesday to boost defense spending and boost economic growth in the Eurozone. Such reforms could boost inflation in the Eurozone economy. Meanwhile, investors await the European Central Bank's (ECB) monetary...
The USD/CHF pair continued its downtrend for the third straight session, trading around 0.8880 during European hours on Wednesday (05/03). The pair remained under pressure after the release of Swiss Consumer Price Index (CPI) data. The monthly CPI rose by 0.6% in February, marking the first increase in nine months and the fastest pace since February 2021, surpassing market expectations of 0.5%. The annual inflation rate eased slightly to 0.3% in February, beating the expected increase of 0.2% but down from 0.4% in January, marking the lowest level since April 2021. Meanwhile, core...
Oil prices continued to slide after Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the Trump administration could lift some tariffs on Mexico and Canada, adding to uncertainty in global markets. West Texas Intermediate crude was trading near $68 a barrel after falling 3% over the past three sessions, while Brent was hovering around $71. Lutnick did not explicitly say what action President Donald Trump was considering but dismissed the idea that the levies would be lifted entirely. He made the remarks on Fox. Crude prices have been falling since mid-January as Trump's trade policies raise the...
China's official NBS Manufacturing PMI increased to 49.7 in June 2025 from May's 49.5, matching market expectations while marking the third consecutive month of contraction in factory activity.
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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...
President Donald Trump locked horns with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell during a rare presidential visit to the U.S. central bank on Thursday, criticizing the cost of renovating two historical...