The Federal Reserve is expected to deliver its first interest-rate cut this year at its September 16-17 meeting, as it moves to counter a cooling labor market even as inflation remains above target. The anticipated quarter-point reduction may not satisfy President Donald Trump, who wants a bigger cut and has named his White House economic advisor, Stephen Miran, in time to be on the Fed Board at the September meeting, pending Senate confirmation. Here is a look at Fed officials' comments since their last policy meeting, sorting them under the labels "dove" and "hawk" as shorthand for their...
Gold price (XAU/USD) lacks any firm intraday directional bias on Thursday and oscillates in a narrow trading band through the first half of the European session. The commodity, however, remains close to a multi-week top touched on Tuesday and seems poised to appreciate further amid a combination of supporting factors. Investors remain on edge amid rising geopolitical risks and persistent trade-related uncertainties. This might continue to act as a tailwind for the safe-haven precious ahead of potential talks between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Meanwhile,...
Oil edged lower on Thursday after a build in U.S. gasoline and diesel inventories and cuts to Saudi Arabia's July prices for Asian crude buyers, with global economic uncertainty weighing on prices as well. Brent crude futures fell 1 cent to $64.85 a barrel at 0630 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude lost 11 cents, or 0.2%, dropping to $62.74 a barrel. Oil prices closed around 1% lower on Wednesday after official data showed that U.S. gasoline and distillate stockpiles grew more than expected, reflecting weaker demand in the world's top economy. [EIA/S] Adding to the weakness, Saudi...
GBP/USD retraces its recent gains from the previous session, trading around 1.3550 during the Asian hours on Thursday. The pair depreciates as the US Dollar (USD) gains ground amid a technical correction. The downside of the pair could be limited as the Greenback may receive downward pressure from dampened risk sentiment amid rising tariff uncertainty and its potential to hurt growth in the US economy. Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) Services Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) fell to 49.9 in May, from April's 51.6. This reading surprisingly fell short of the expected...
USD/CHF pair trades with caution near the six-week low around 0.8200 during late Asian trading hours on Thursday. Investors brace for significant volatility in the pair as the United States (US) Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) data takes centre stage, which will reflect the current status of the labor market. The US Dollar (USD) fell sharply on Wednesday after the release of a string of disappointing US economic data for May, notably a sharp slowdown in the private sector labor demand. The ADP Employment Change data showed that the private sector added 37K fresh workers, the lowest reading seen...
The EUR/USD pair trades with caution, slightly above the key level of 1.1400 during Asian trading hours on Thursday. The major currency pair is expected to remain sideways, with investors awaiting the European Central Bank's (ECB) interest rate decision announcement at 12:15 GMT. The ECB is almost certain to reduce its key borrowing rates by 25 basis points (bps), a move that will lower the Deposit Facility Rate and Main Refinancing Operations Rate to 2% and 2.15%, respectively. This will be the seventh consecutive interest rate cut by the ECB and the eighth since June last year, when it...
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...