The Federal Reserve is likely to start a series of interest-rate cuts next week and keep going through the end of the year, traders bet on Wednesday after tamer-than-expected producer price inflation last month calmed worries that price pressures would hold the central bank back from policy easing. Traders stuck to bets the Fed will start with a quarter-point reduction at its meeting next week, and continue with same-sized cuts through year-end, based on pricing of futures contracts that settle to the Fed's policy rate. The producer price index increased 2.6% in August from a year earlier,...
GBP/USD recovered its latest losses from the previous session, rising to around 1.2910 during the Asian session on Thursday (3/27). The pair strengthened as the US Dollar (USD) remained pressured by declining Treasury yields, with the 2-year and 10-year yields hovering around 4.0% and 4.34%, respectively. Market participants are closely watching the upcoming US economic data, including the weekly Initial Jobless Claims and the final Q4 Annual GDP report, due later in the day. However, the GBP/USD pair's gains could be capped as risk-averse sentiment increases amid escalating US trade...
The dollar index fell below 104.5 on Thursday, paring gains from the previous session as investors weighed the impact of Trump's new auto tariffs. Late Wednesday, President Trump announced a 25 percent tariff on all imported cars and light trucks, which will go into effect on April 2, along with reciprocal tariffs on countries with levies on U.S. goods—measures he has vowed to maintain during his second term. The escalating trade war has stoked concerns about slower U.S. economic growth and renewed inflationary pressures, unsettling financial markets. U.S. consumer confidence plunged to its...
The Australian Dollar (AUD) remains under pressure against the US Dollar (USD) for the second consecutive day on Thursday, as risk-off sentiment rises amid concerns over impending US auto tariffs. The AUD/USD pair weakened following President Donald Trump's decision late Wednesday to impose a 25% tariff on auto imports, further escalating global trade tensions. The tariffs are set to take effect on April 2, with collection beginning the following day. President Trump suggested plans on Wednesday to impose tariffs on copper imports within weeks, although the Commerce Department initially had...
Oil continued to rise after U.S. crude inventories fell the most since December, signaling a near-term supply squeeze. West Texas Intermediate was trading near $70 a barrel after closing 0.9% higher on Wednesday, while Brent settled below $74. U.S. stockpiles fell by 3.34 million barrels last week, the lowest in a month, while gasoline inventories also fell, government data showed. Oil has been on an upward trend since early March as sanctions and tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump raised the prospect of supply disruptions from producers including Iran and Venezuela. That prompted...
Gold edged higher in early Asian trade, supported by the prospect of rising investor demand. "The Shanghai gold exchange has accepted four Chinese life insurers as exchange members, allowing them to buy gold as part of a pilot program that could expand the network of gold buyers and create a major new buying impulse," TD Securities' Daniel Ghali said in a research note. The four life insurers have combined assets of nearly CNY13 trillion and represent nearly two-thirds of the potential buying impulse from the pilot program, the senior commodity strategist added. Spot gold edged up 0.1% to...
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...