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...
GBP/USD traded around 1.3300 during the Asian session on Wednesday (5/14), steadying after posting more than 1% gains in the previous session. However, the pair's gains may be limited as the British Pound (GBP) faces headwinds from declining employment and slowing wage growth in the UK, factors that could strengthen expectations for further interest rate cuts by the Bank of England (BoE). This week, market participants are bracing for increased volatility in the Pound Sterling, with the release of the UK's preliminary Q1 GDP and Industrial and Manufacturing Production data on Thursday. The...
The Japanese Yen (JPY) remained firmer against its US counterpart for the second straight day on Wednesday and reacted little to a mostly in-line Producer Price Index (PPI). Bank of Japan (BOJ) Deputy Governor Shinichi Uchida's aggressive comments on Tuesday opened the door for further policy normalization and continued to act as a tailwind for the JPY. The US Dollar (USD), on the other hand, continued to weaken on Tuesday's softer US consumer inflation figures, which raised bets that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will cut interest rates at least twice this year. This was seen as another factor...
The Australian dollar (AUD) continued its gains against the US dollar (USD) on Wednesday (5/14) after posting a gain of more than 1.50% in the previous session. The AUD/USD pair strengthened as the US dollar weakened following weaker-than-expected US inflation data. The seasonally adjusted Australian Wage Price Index rose 3.4% year-on-year in Q4 2025, up from a 3.2% increase in Q4 2024 and beating market expectations of a 3.2% increase. This marked a recovery from the previous quarter, which recorded the slowest wage growth since Q3 2022. On a quarterly basis, the index rose 0.9% in Q1,...
The US dollar index held around 100.9 on Wednesday, after falling nearly 1% in the previous session, pressured by weaker-than-expected inflation data that only hinted at a limited impact from President Donald Trump's tariffs. The data released Tuesday showed headline inflation eased to 2.3% in April, the lowest level since February 2021, and slightly below market expectations of 2.4%. On the trade front, markets continued to assess the implications of a temporary lifting of US-China tariffs, which would see tariffs reduced to 30% and 10%, respectively, over a 90-day period. The easing...
Gold edged up in early Asia, supported by mild US inflation signs that support the case for further Fed rate cuts that would boost the appeal of the non-interest-bearing precious metal. Economic data released Tuesday showed CPI rose a seasonally adjusted 0.2% in April, but year-on-year CPI cooled to 2.3% last month, the lowest level in four years. Moreover, a "thinning sell-off" in the precious metal appears likely, TD Securities' Daniel Ghali said in a research note. Despite the US-China trade deal, inflows into Chinese gold ETFs continued to strengthen, the senior commodity strategist...
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...