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 steadied near a two-month low after the International Energy Agency said the market is on track for record oversupply next year. Brent traded below $66 a barrel, after closing at its lowest since June 5 on Wednesday, while West Texas Intermediate was around $63. Gloomy predictions from both the IEA and the US government this week come as supplies from both within and outside OPEC+ are expected to rise into the fourth quarter. Brent's nearest timespread — a guage of market health — is trading at its weakest level since May. Against that backdrop, traders are...
Gold prices edged down on Thursday due to a slight uptick in the U.S. dollar index, although expectations of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut in September limited losses. Spot gold fell 0.3% to $3,346.19 per ounce as of 0848 GMT. U.S. gold futures for December delivery were down 0.4% to $3,393.80. The dollar (.DXY), opens new tab rose 0.04% from an over two-week low against its rivals, making gold more expensive for holders of other currencies. "The marginal reduction in gold since this morning could be just chalked down to a slightly firmer dollar," said Nitesh Shah, commodities...
The U.S. dollar rose slightly against other major currencies on Thursday, but stayed close to multi-week lows as bets that the Federal Reserve will resume cutting interest rates next month ticked higher. Bucking the trend was the yen, with the dollar hitting a three-week low against the Japanese currency after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested the Bank of Japan needs to raise rates again soon, while the Fed cuts aggressively. Rising expectations for monetary easing combined with increasing institutional cryptocurrency investment powered bitcoin to a new record peak earlier in...
Silver prices held above $38.5 per ounce on Thursday, hovering near a three-week high as expectations for deeper Federal Reserve rate cuts this year supported the market. Softer US inflation data suggested President Donald Trump's tariffs are not adding to price pressures, while signs of labor market cooling reinforced the dovish outlook. Markets have nearly fully priced in a September cut, with some anticipating a larger 50-basis-point move. Additionally, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called for multiple rate cuts and said the Fed could kick off the policy rate easing with a half-point...
Gold held a small gain after traders increased bets the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next month, following pressure from US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Bullion rose as much as 0.6% on Thursday before paring gains to trade near $3,365 an ounce. Prices saw a modest increase in the previous session, supported by a fall in Treasury yields after Bessent suggested the Fed's benchmark rate ought to be at least 1.5 percentage points lower than it is now. Lower borrowing costs and declining yields tend to support gold, as it pays no interest. The increased bets...
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...