US President Donald Trump visited the Federal Reserve (Fed) headquarters in Washington, D.C., on Friday (July 25th). President Trump recently turned his attention to criticizing the long-planned renovation of the Fed headquarters. Trump, who oversaw a comprehensive renovation of the White House interior, adding gold accents, claimed that the Fed renovations represent an unnecessary expense for U.S. taxpayers in an attempt to further narrow the gap between the executive branch's ability to control the U.S. central bank, which is currently beyond the President's broad reach. During Trump's...
Gold rallied after its biggest weekly drop in six months, with safe-haven demand boosted by growing concerns about the US economic outlook and budget deficit. Bullion rose as much as 1.3% to around $3,245 an ounce in early Asian trade. That came after Moody's Ratings announced late Friday that it had downgraded the US government's main credit rating to Aa1 from Aaa. The agency blamed the inability of successive administrations to cut budget deficits. "While we acknowledge the significant strength of the US economy and finances, we believe this no longer fully offsets the deterioration in...
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is trading around $62 on Friday ahead of the weekend, staging a modest rebound after snapping a two-day losing streak. The US Oil found renewed buying interest following a retest of the $55 support zone, where a potential double-bottom structure has formed on the daily chart. While the short-term technical picture has improved, macroeconomic and geopolitical headwinds, especially surrounding rising Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC+) output and the potential return of Iranian barrels, continue to weigh on sentiment. OPEC+ supply...
The dollar rose on Friday after the latest round of economic data showed a jump in import prices while consumer sentiment remained subdued, putting it on pace for a fourth straight weekly advance. The Labor Department said import prices gained 0.1% last month after dropping 0.4% in March as a jump in the cost of capital goods outweighed cheaper energy prices. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast import prices, which exclude tariffs, would decrease 0.4%. The dollar began to strengthen after a separate reading from the University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers showed its Consumer...
Gold (XAU/USD) continues to decline on Friday, falling toward $3,180 and marking a sharp weekly loss of over 4%, its biggest since November 2024. The precious metal has now shed over $300 from its record high of $3,500 set in April, as safe-haven demand weakens and technical selling accelerates. Risk sentiment improved this week after the United States (US) and China agreed to reduce tariffs for 90 days, while geopolitical tensions remained muted with India-Pakistan and Middle East risks stabilizing. After a period of conflicting reports and diplomatic deadlock, Ukrainian and Russian...
Oil prices edged up on Friday, heading for a second consecutive weekly gain on easing U.S.-China trade tensions, although the optimism was somewhat offset by higher supply expectations from Iran and OPEC+. Brent crude futures were up 29 cents, or 0.5%, at $64.82 per barrel at 1054 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 27 cents, or 0.4%, to $61.89. Both contracts fell more than 2% in the previous session on the prospect of an Iranian nuclear deal, which could result in more barrels being released onto the global market. "The enthusiasm resulting from progress in...
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.
It...
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 EU and the U.S. are reportedly nearing a trade agreement that would impose a 15% tariff on most imports, including potentially cars and pharmaceuticals, Bloomberg News reported, citing...