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,...
Oil prices edged higher on Wednesday on supply concerns with the U.S. stepping up efforts to limit Venezuelan and Iranian oil exports, while a bigger-than-expected drop in U.S. crude inventories also lent support. Brent crude futures gained 15 cents, or 0.21%, to $73.22 a barrel by 0723 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 16 cents, or 0.23%, to $69.16 a barrel. Both contracts hit their highest in three weeks in the previous session. "Crude oil prices maintain their bullish bias after Trump's sanctions on Venezuelan oil, raising supply-side concerns," Priyanka...
The Australian Dollar (AUD) was supported as copper futures surged to a new record high on the Comex exchange on Tuesday (3/26), benefiting from Australia's position as one of the leading copper exporters. Bloomberg reported that Trump could speed up the timetable for imposing tariffs on US copper imports. While the Commerce Department originally had 270 days from February 2025 to investigate and report on potential tariffs, recent developments suggest that the tariffs could be implemented within weeks, much sooner than the original deadline. The AUD weakened against the US Dollar (USD)...
Gold (XAU/USD) prices struggled to capitalize on the previous day's up-move and attracted some intraday sellers during the Asian session on Wednesday (3/26). The US Dollar (USD) regained some positive traction and moved back closer to near three-week highs touched on Tuesday. This, along with the general positive sentiment around equity markets, acted as a headwind for the safe-haven precious metal. However, uncertainty over US President Donald Trump's so-called reciprocal tariff plan for next week helped Gold prices hold above the psychological $3,000 mark. Additionally, bets that the...
The EUR/USD pair strengthened near 1.0780 during Asian trading hours on Wednesday (3/26). The greenback weakened against the euro (EUR) on weak US economic data and uncertainty surrounding US President Donald Trump's trade policies ahead of a new round of tariffs next week. The US Durable Goods Orders report for February is due on Wednesday. Weak confidence data and concerns about an economic slowdown in the United States could drag the US dollar (USD) lower. Data released by the Conference Board on Tuesday showed that US consumer confidence fell to its lowest level in more than four years...
Oil prices edged higher on Wednesday on supply concerns with the U.S. stepping up efforts to curb Venezuelan and Iranian oil exports, while a bigger-than-expected draw in U.S. crude inventories also provided support. Brent crude futures were up 20 cents, or 0.3%, at $73.22 a barrel by 0404 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 20 cents, or 0.3%, at $69.20 a barrel. Both contracts hit three-week highs in the previous session. "Crude prices maintained a bullish bias after Trump's sanctions on Venezuelan oil, raising supply-side concerns," Priyanka Sachdeva, senior...
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...