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 fell on Monday after the U.S. dropped an initial threat of sanctions against Colombia, easing immediate concerns about oil supply disruptions, although a show of force by U.S. President Donald Trump kept markets on edge. Brent crude was down 60 cents, or 0.8%, at $77.90 a barrel by 1300 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was down 57 cents, or 0.8%, at $74.09. Both benchmarks fluctuated between modest gains and losses in early trading. The U.S. quickly dropped plans to impose sanctions and tariffs on Colombia after the South American country agreed to take in migrants...
The pound (GBP) recovered all its intraday losses and rose above 1.2500 against the US dollar (USD) in the North American session on Monday (1/27). The GBP/USD pair bounced back as the US dollar weakened after investors digested concerns over US President Donald Trump imposing 25% tariffs on Colombia overnight. Over the weekend, President Trump threatened to impose tariffs on its South American trading partner for not allowing military flights carrying illegal immigrants into their territory. Trump later delayed the proposed tariffs after Colombia accepted his terms. The US Dollar Index...
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the performance of the US Dollar against a basket of six major currencies, weakened slightly and traded around 107.30 at the time of writing on Monday (27/1) despite some safe-haven inflows earlier during the Asian session. Markets were spooked after US President Donald Trump threatened to impose 50% tariffs on Colombian imports after the country refused to accept immigrants deported from the US over the weekend. Traders are now reassessing their earlier dovish stance on tariffs as it seems clear that tariffs will be used more as a leverage tool. On...
Gold (XAU/USD) prices fell below $2,770 at the time of writing on Monday (1/27) after a weekend full of headlines and a busy week of central bank interest rate decisions coming up. Over the weekend, markets understood why US President Donald Trump has been loosening up on the use of tariffs as a tool. It appears that tariffs will be used as leverage, for example, for countries that refuse to accept deported US immigrants who are being taken back to their home countries. Colombia felt the impact on Sunday when President Trump ordered emergency tariffs of 25%, and increased to 50% within a...
WTI crude futures were fluctuating around $74.8 a barrel on Monday as markets reacted to the Trump administration's trade policy shift. The U.S. initially threatened tariffs on Colombia over a migrant dispute but stopped short of doing so after Bogotá agreed to President Trump's terms. The move follows a series of global trade actions targeting China, Canada, Mexico and the EU, alongside calls for OPEC to lower oil prices. Trump has argued that lower oil prices could hurt Russia's revenues and curb its actions in Ukraine. Meanwhile, signs of slowing economic activity in China, the world'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...