The Federal Reserve is expected to deliver its first interest-rate cut this year at its September 16-17 meeting, as it moves to counter a cooling labor market even as inflation remains above target. The anticipated quarter-point reduction may not satisfy President Donald Trump, who wants a bigger cut and has named his White House economic advisor, Stephen Miran, in time to be on the Fed Board at the September meeting, pending Senate confirmation. Here is a look at Fed officials' comments since their last policy meeting, sorting them under the labels "dove" and "hawk" as shorthand for their...
The dollar inched off two-week lows on Friday, but kept on track for its biggest weekly drop in a month, as investors contended with U.S. tariff negotiations before an August 1 deadline, while looking ahead to central bank meetings next week. Both the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan are expected to hold rates at next week's policy meetings, but traders are focusing on the subsequent comments to gauge the timing of the next move. "Next week's BOJ policy meeting will be closely watched for hints on the timing of the next rate hike," said Carol Kong, currency strategist at...
Gold prices edged lower on Friday, as signs of progress in trade negotiations between the U.S. and its trading partners weighed on safe-haven demand, although an overall weaker dollar limited losses for bullion. Spot gold was down 0.2% at $3,360.68 per ounce, as of 0459 GMT. U.S. gold futures fell 0.3% to $3,363. "Basically we are seeing some profit-taking from short-term bullish speculators due to the fact that we now start to see this trade-deal optimism in the market," OANDA senior market analyst Kelvin Wong said. "However, the dollar is in a weakening bias and on top of that, we still...
Oil prices rose on Friday as trade talk optimism supported the outlook for both the global economy and oil demand, outweighing news of the potential for more oil supply from Venezuela. Brent crude futures touched a one-week high and were up 20 cents, or 0.29%, at $69.38 a barrel by 0519 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures climbed 20 cents, or 0.30%, to $66.23. Oil, along with stock markets, gained support from the prospect of more trade deals between the United States and trading partners ahead of an August 1 deadline for new tariffs on goods from an array of countries. After...
The Japanese yen slipped to around 147.5 per dollar on Friday, marking its second consecutive day of losses as markets digested the implications of the new US-Japan trade agreement. The deal imposes a 15% tariff on Japanese exports to the US, significantly lower than the 25% previously threatened by Trump, providing some relief but keeping trade tensions in focus. On the economic front, Tokyo's core inflation for July came in slightly below expectations but remained well above the BOJ's 2% target, reinforcing speculation of another rate hike later this year. The BOJ will announce its policy...
The US Dollar Index (DXY), an index of the value of the US Dollar (USD) measured against a basket of six world currencies, trades in positive territory for the second consecutive day around 97.55 during the Asian trading hours on Friday. Investors brace for the US Durable Goods Orders for June, which is due later on Friday. The Greenback holds positive ground amid mixed US economic data. Data released by S&P Global on Thursday showed that the US flash Manufacturing PMI dropped to 49.5 in July from the previous reading of 52.0. This figure came in weaker than the market consensus of...
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...