The International Monetary Fund on Thursday said the Federal Reserve has scope to lower interest rates because of the weakening U.S. labor market, but the central bank should move cautiously with a close eye on emerging economic data. "Our overall sense is that, given the downside risks to full employment, there is scope for the Fed to begin to lower policy rates," IMF spokeswoman Julie Kozack said in a regular briefing. "We also would say that the Fed should proceed cautiously, of course in a data-dependent way, in the coming months." The Fed is expected to lower its benchmark interest...
The US dollar index slipped to around 103 on Tuesday, trimming recent gains as persistent trade uncertainties weighed on the broader economic and inflation outlook. President Donald Trump denied rumors of a potential pause in his sweeping tariff measures but expressed a willingness to enter negotiations with trade partners. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent added that nearly 70 countries have reached out to the White House seeking tariff talks. However, tensions escalated as Trump threatened China with an additional 50% tariff if Beijing fails to remove its levies on US imports. In response,...
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) US Crude Oil prices attract some buyers on Tuesday following the previous day's US tariffs-led volatile price swings and currently trade just below mid-$61.00s, up over 1% for the day. The US Dollar (USD) attracts fresh sellers and stalls a two-day-old recovery from a multi-month low amid bets that a tariffs-driven US economic slowdown might force the Federal Reserve (Fed) to resume its rate-cutting cycle soon. This, in turn, is seen benefiting USD-denominated commodities and lending some support to Crude Oil prices. Apart from this, the uptick could be...
USD/CHF started Tuesday's Asian session (08/4) slightly lower, after a wild trading day on Monday, which saw it swing in the range of 0.8450–0.8673, and ended almost unchanged. At the time of writing, the major was trading at 0.8588, down 0.02%. The currency pair was trading near 0.8588 amid mixed sentiment, with investors eyeing US CPI as the next catalyst for direction The market mood was mixed, with one of the three US indices posting a positive day, while the Volatility Index (VIX) ended at 46.98, its highest level since March 2020. Tariffs continued to be the main driver, stoking...
Oil prices plunged 2% to a 4-year low on Monday on concerns that U.S. President Donald Trump's latest trade tariffs could push economies around the world into recession and dent global demand for energy. Brent crude futures fell $1.37, or 2.1%, to settle at $64.21 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell $1.29, or 2.1%, to settle at $60.70. That pushed both crude benchmarks, which fell about 11% last week, to their lowest closes since April 2021. The trading session was marked by extreme volatility, with prices dropping more than $3 a barrel intraday overnight and...
Gold prices fell more than 2% on Monday, with investors turning to the dollar as a safe haven after broad U.S. tariffs raised fears of a global recession. However, analysts remained bullish on bullion given the challenging economic environment. Spot gold prices fell 2.4% to $2,963.19 an ounce by 1:36 p.m. ET (1736 GMT), after hitting a near four-week low of $2,955.89 earlier in the session. U.S. gold futures settled 2% lower at $2,973.60. "Gold prices fell as investors turned to cash and other safe havens such as the Swiss franc and Japanese yen amid market turmoil, which creates the risk...
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...