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...
Oil prices edged lower in Asian trade on Tuesday as markets weighed U.S. President Donald Trump's 50-day ultimatum for Russia to end the Ukraine war and threats of sanctions on buyers of its oil. Traders also digested a flurry of Chinese economic data on Tuesday, including second-quarter GDP, industrial production, retail sales, and other key indicators. As of 21:56 ET (01:56 GMT), Brent oil futures expiring in September ticked down 0.2% to $69.06 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 0.3% to $66.79 per barrel. After an initial rally, oil prices closed nearly...
The Japanese Yen (JPY) struggles near a three-week low against its American counterpart during the Asian session on Tuesday and seems vulnerable to prolonging a two-week-old downtrend. US President Donald Trump showed willingness to engage in trade negotiations, fueling hopes for a US-Japan deal before the August 1 deadline and lending some support to the JPY. Meanwhile, the optimism boosts investors' appetite for riskier assets and acts as a headwind for the safe-haven JPY. Furthermore, bets that the Bank of Japan (BoJ) would keep interest rates low for longer than it wants amid concerns...
The Australian dollar edged higher to around $0.654 on Tuesday, following a notable decline in the previous session, largely driven by renewed optimism over US President Donald Trump's willingness to further engage in trade discussions. Despite maintaining a firm stance on the upcoming 30% tariffs set to take effect on August 1, Trump indicated a readiness to resume negotiations with the European Union and other major trading partners, hinting at a potential diplomatic opening and easing investor fears of a deepening trade conflict. Domestically, sentiment was further buoyed by positive...
The US dollar index held above 98 on Tuesday, hovering near a three-week high as investors awaited the June consumer inflation report that could provide clues on how the Trump administration's tariffs have been affecting prices. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell recently indicated that inflation is expected to rise over the summer due to tariff pressures, reinforcing expectations that the Fed may delay interest rate cuts until later this year. Meanwhile, concerns over central bank independence resurfaced as President Donald Trump renewed criticism of Powell, arguing that interest rates...
Gold edges higher in the early Asian session. Key development is today's release of U.S. CPI, XS.com's Rania Gule says in an email. "Inflation remains the core variable steering the Fed's monetary policy, and therefore directly impacts market sentiment toward safe-haven or risk-on assets," the senior market analyst says. Should inflation be hotter than expected, expectations of a Fed rate cut in September may be scaled back, strengthening USD and putting downward pressure on gold. On the other hand, weak inflation readings would boost the case for Fed rate cuts and be strongly supportive 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...