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,...
Gold prices were mostly steady in Asian trading on Friday, but hit a record high after surging in the previous session amid uncertainty over U.S. tariffs, while investors cautiously awaited a key U.S. inflation report. Spot gold was mostly unchanged after hitting a record high of $2,799.60 an ounce, while February gold futures edged up 0.1% to $2,793.74 an ounce by 1:55 p.m. ET (06:55 GMT). The recent escalation of U.S. trade policy under President Donald Trump has raised considerable uncertainty in global markets. His announcement of high tariffs on imports from the BRICS nations—Brazil,...
The dollar strengthened against a basket of currencies, recovering slightly after the previous day's drop following weak U.S. gross domestic product data. Markets turned cautious ahead of a possible announcement by President Trump on tariffs, particularly against Canada and Mexico, which drew some safe-haven demand for the U.S. currency. "Tariff news from the Trump administration continues to take center stage," said analysts at Danske Bank. December U.S. PCE inflation data -- the Fed's preferred inflation measure -- and the fourth-quarter U.S. employment cost index, both due at 1330 GMT,...
GBP/USD extended its decline for the fourth straight session, trading around 1.2420 during Asian hours on Friday (1/31). The decline was driven by the US Dollar (USD) improving amid rising risk aversion following new tariff threats from US President Donald Trump. President Trump reiterated plans late Thursday to impose a flat 25% import tax on all goods entering the US from Canada and Mexico, citing concerns over fentanyl. The first wave of tariffs on the two countries will take effect on February 1, according to Reuters. Additionally, Trump hinted at the possibility of imposing tariffs on...
The Japanese Yen (JPY) attracted some intraday sellers and snapped a two-day winning streak against its American rival after Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Kazuo Ueda said on Friday that underlying inflation remains slightly below 2%. Additionally, a modest uptick in the US Treasury bond yields and a generally positive risk tone undermined the safe-haven JPY. This, in turn, helped the USD/JPY pair retrace nearly 100 pips from Asian session lows. Meanwhile, data released earlier today showed that consumer prices in Tokyo – the capital of Japan – rose in January. This kept alive hopes for...
The USD/CHF pair traded with modest gains near 0.9100 during the early European session on Friday (1/31). The hawkish stance from the US Federal Reserve (Fed) provided some support to the US Dollar (USD). Investors will take more cues from the December US Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) inflation data, due for release on Friday. Also, Fed Governor Michelle Bowman will be speaking. The US central bank left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in a press conference that the US economy remains strong, while inflation remains mildly elevated. Hence, the...
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...