Several Federal Reserve officials who spoke on Wednesday said labor market worries continue to animate their belief that rate cuts still lie ahead for the central bank. "I've been clear that I think we should be cutting at the next meeting," Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said in an interview with CNBC, reiterating the view he has held for some time and led him to dissent at the late July Fed meeting in favor of an easing. "You want to get ahead of having the labor market go down because usually when the labor market turns bad, it turns bad fast," he said. He added that a rate...
The EUR/USD retreats a minimal 0.10% on Wednesday as developments about the Federal Reserve's independence dissipated, while the French Prime Minister Bayrou called for a confidence vote. At the time of writing, the pair trades at 1.1631, after hitting a daily high of 1.1647. The narrative in the financial market remains unchanged, with the White House exerting pressure on the Federal Reserve following Trump's firing of Fed Governor Lisa Cook. Good data in the United States (US) on Tuesday, reflected on an uptick in Durable Goods Orders and the Conference Board (CB) Consumer Confidence,...
Gold price remains steady on Wednesday, even though the Greenback recovered from earlier losses triggered by threats to the Federal Reserve's (Fed) independence. Nevertheless, Bullion sellers are not out of the woods as pressure from the White House continues. The XAU/USD trades at $3,397, up 0.12%. The US economic docket remains light, except for remarks of New York Fed President John Williams, who said that rates can fall at some point but emphasized that only data would indicate if it is appropriate to reduce rates, based on the economy's performance. In a CNBC interview, Williams added...
Oil prices rose on Wednesday on a larger-than-expected drop in U.S. crude inventories and the potential impact of new U.S. tariffs on India. Brent crude futures were up 55 cents, or 0.8%, at $67.77 a barrel by 12:10 p.m. ET (1710 GMT). West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 62 cents, or 1%, to $63.86. Both contracts fell by more than 2% on Tuesday. U.S. crude inventories dropped by 2.4 million barrels to 418.3 million barrels last week, the Energy Information Administration said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.9-million-barrel draw. U.S. gasoline...
Gold edged lower on Wednesday morning as the dollar strengthened, even amid concerns over US President Donald Trump's move to take over control of the Federal Reserve Board, which continues to encourage safe-haven asset purchases. December gold last traded down US$4.00 at US$3,429.00, down from its highest level since August 8. Trump said on Monday he would fire Federal Reserve Chair Lisa Cook, as he continues to pressure the central bank to lower interest rates despite rising inflation. Cook was appointed to the Fed Board by Joe Biden and is the first African-American woman to hold the...
Oil prices rose slightly on Wednesday morning after the United States imposed high secondary tariffs on India to curb Russian oil imports, despite a report showing a smaller-than-expected decline in U.S. crude inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery last week rose US$0.24 to US$64.49 per barrel, while Brent crude for October rose US$0.20 to US$67.42. The Trump administration followed through on its threat to impose a 50% tariff on most U.S. imports from India to curb Russian oil imports. The tariffs took effect just after midnight on Wednesday, doubling...
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...