The US economy is slowing, according to a monthly index released Monday, increasing the likelihood that policymakers will cut interest rates next month. The Chicago Fed's National Activity Index fell slightly to minus 0.19 in July from a downwardly revised minus 0.18 in June. A reading below zero indicates slower growth than the long-term average. Employment indicators remained negative on the index, a fresh sign of fragility in the US labor market. This weakness is one of the main reasons for a rate cut at the Fed's policy meeting next month. Central bank Chairman Jerome Powell last week...
The number of job openings on the last business day of December stood at 7.6 million, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported in the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) on Tuesday. This reading followed the 8.15 million openings announced in November and came in below the market expectation of 8 million. "Over the month, hires and total separations were little changed at 5.5 million and 5.3 million, respectively. Within separations, quits (3.2 million) and layoffs and discharges (1.8 million) changed little," the BLS noted in its press release. Market reaction to JOLTS...
China is the world's top energy importer but its purchases from the United States are relatively modest, lessening the impact of Beijing's move Tuesday to impose retaliatory tariffs on U.S. crude oil, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and coal. Shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs on China took effect Tuesday, China's Finance Ministry said it would impose levies of 15% on U.S. coal and LNG imports and 10% on crude oil as well as farm equipment and some cars, starting Feb. 10. China's U.S. crude oil imports fell 52% to about 230,540 barrels per day (bpd) in the first 11 months of...
United States (US) President Donald Trump hit the newswires with a wide swath of off-hand statements on Monday, ranging from the war in Ukraine, where President Trump expects 'rare earth metals' in exchange for obtaining a ceasefire with Russia. Donald Trump also noted that he remains "not happy" with the Panama situation, and reiterated that his work on tariffs is not over yet.We'll be doing something perhaps with TikTok if we can make the right deal, TikTok could go into the sovereign wealth fund.Nobody is out of tariffs.I had good talk with Trudeau.We haven't agreed on tariffs yet with...
According to the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), the Manufacturing PMI rose to 50.9 in January from 49.3 in the previous month, beating market expectations of 49.8. Additionally, the Prices Paid Index—a measure of inflation—rose to 54.9 from 52.5, while the Employment Index increased to 50.3 from 45.4, and the New Orders Index improved to 55.1. The US dollar maintained its upbeat performance so far on Monday, motivating the US Dollar Index (DXY) to maintain its marked gains above the 109.00 mark for now. Excitement is building as the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) prepares...
Inflation in the US, as measured by the change in the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index, edged higher to 2.6% on a yearly basis in December from 2.4% in November, the US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported on Friday. The core PCE Price Index, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose 2.8% in the same period, matching November's reading and the market expectation. The core PCE Price Index rose 0.2% on a monthly basis. Source: Fxstreet
President Donald Trump said he would fire Lisa Cook from the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors if she does not resign her post over mortgage-fraud accusations from a top...
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) maintained its cash rate at 4.1% during its April meeting, holding borrowing costs unchanged after slashing 25 bps in the February meeting, aligning with market...