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,...
The Pound Sterling (GBP) depreciates against the US Dollar (USD) on Wednesday as United Kingdom (UK) inflation came in softer than expected, while investors scrutinized the Spring Budget. Across the pond, mixed US economic data lent a lifeline to the Greenback, which pared losses versus the British pound. GBP/USD is trading at 1.2895, down 0.36%. Pound drops as inflation cools and Reeves' budget tightens spendingThe UK's inflation rate dipped below estimates, with headline figures rising 2.8% year-over-year (YoY) in February, compared to 3% in January. The Core CPI for the same period...
China Lifecos are already on the bid in Gold. The Shanghai Gold exchange admitted four Chinese Life Insurance companies as members of the exchange, enabling them to purchase Gold as part of a pilot program that could grow the network of Gold buyers and create a massive new buying impulse, TDS' Senior Commodity Strategist Daniel Ghali notes. Gold prices continue to rally north of $3000"These four lifecos alone have nearly 13Trillion yuan in total assets and represent nearly 2/3 of the total potential buying impulse from this pilot program. We estimate that a 1% allocation into Gold amounts...
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the performance of the US Dollar (USD) against six major currencies, is currently bouncing off the 104.00 mark and consolidates on Wednesday ahead of the US Durable Goods Orders data for February. On one hand, the DXY sees some selling pressure from a Black Sea ceasefire deal brokered by the United States (US), where Ukraine is willing to commit and Russia backtracks and demands a lift in all sanctions on banks and agricultural companies. On the other hand, the buying pressure comes from comments from US President Donald Trump, who said Copper...
Oil rose after an industry report signaled a chunky decline in US crude stockpiles, while the market weighed the prospect of a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire in the Black Sea. West Texas Intermediate futures climbed close to $70 a barrel, a level not seen since the start of the month. US inventories fell by 4.6 million barrels last week, according to the American Petroleum Institute. That would be the biggest draw since November if confirmed by official data on Wednesday. The US, meanwhile, said Russia and Ukraine had agreed to a truce "to ensure safe navigation" in...
Gold's price (XAU/USD) is edging higher to around $3,027 at the time of writing on Wednesday and is turning this week's performance into green numbers. The precious metal is being bought together with other precious metals as Copper pops to a new all-time high. Copper metal is in the eye of attention after United States (US) President Donald Trump mentioned on Tuesday that Copper tariffs will be implemented in the coming weeks, which is far sooner than markets were anticipating. Meanwhile, there is also a headline risk on Ukraine, where a Black Sea ceasefire deal is on the table. Ukraine's...
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...