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 US dollar index fell to around 97.3 on Thursday, marking its second consecutive day of losses as investors pivoted toward riskier assets amid a broad rally in stocks and commodities. The greenback also came under pressure from a sharp drop in Treasury yields, driven by strong demand in Wednesday's 10-year note auction. On the policy front, minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest meeting revealed that most officials were open to cutting interest rates later this year. Despite the overall decline, the dollar surged more than 2% against the Brazilian real after President Donald Trump...
West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the US crude oil benchmark, is trading around $67.15 during the early Asian trading hours on Thursday. The WTI price loses ground amid concerns over weakening demand following a surprise increase in US crude inventories. US crude oil inventories rose last week for a second consecutive build, the biggest rise since January. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) weekly report showed crude oil stockpiles in the US for the week ending July 4 rose by 7.070 million barrels, compared to an increase of 3.835 million barrels in the previous week. The market...
The US dollar (USD) maintained a solid position on Wednesday (July 9), although its momentum weakened slightly after a strong start to the day. The greenback opened on a slightly bullish note amid ongoing tariff tensions and cautious market sentiment. Investors remained cautious following US President Donald Trump's latest tariff threats and the extension of the deadline for reciprocal duties, which continued to dampen risk appetite and supported safe-haven funds flowing into the USD. The US Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, rose...
The Australian Dollar (AUD) traded within a well-defined range against the US Dollar (USD) on Wednesday (July 9th), as markets digested the latest Fed Meeting Minutes and tariff-related headlines. Although tariffs are set to take effect in August, lingering trade uncertainty continues to weigh on the US Dollar. The latest tariff letters were sent to countries including Libya, Iraq, and the Philippines on Wednesday. At the time of writing, AUD/USD was trading around 0.6540, with strong resistance at 0.6550. The minutes of the June Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting revealed that...
Oil prices were steady on Wednesday (July 9) as investors weighed strong US gasoline demand data and attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, while US copper tariffs loomed. Brent crude futures closed up 4 cents, or 0.06%, at $70.19 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate crude closed up 5 cents, or 0.07%, at $68.38 a barrel. US crude oil inventories rose while gasoline and distillate inventories fell last week, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday. Crude inventories rose by 7.1 million barrels to 426 million barrels in the week ending July 4, the EIA said, compared with...
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...