US Stocks plunged on Friday, as investors reacted to a weak July jobs report and a fresh round of tariffs announced by President Trump. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq fell 1.6% and 2.2%, their steepest drops since April, while the Dow lost 542 points. Payrolls rose by just 73,000 in July, far below expectations, with sharp downward revisions to prior months signaling deeper labor market weakness. Treasury yields fell and the odds of a September Fed rate cut rose above 80%. Sentiment worsened after new tariffs of 10% to 41% were imposed on imports from key partners including Canada, India, and...
Gold (XAU/USD) fell about half a percent to trade around $2,680 on Friday (08/11), extending a short-term bearish trend that has been in place since it ended on Halloween. The decline came amid market expectations that President-elect Donald Trump's economic policies will be positive for the US Dollar (USD), as higher tariffs and tax cuts could keep interest rates high, supporting foreign capital inflows into the US currency. This, in turn, is expected to pressure Gold lower as it is mostly priced and traded in USD. Gold also won a bid as there was no mention at all of how the US...
Gold fell at the end of a volatile week's trading, as investors assessed the path ahead for US rates and the implications of Donald Trump's election victory. Bullion declined by as much as 1% Friday, on track for its biggest weekly fall since May. The precious metal had gained Thursday, after the Fed cut rates by a quarter point, even as Chair Jerome Powell said he didn't rule "out or in" a further cut in December, noting recent indicators suggested the economy was still expanding solidly. Thursday's gain partially helped to retrace Wednesday's 3% rout, when...
The U.S. dollar was steady on Friday, set to end a volatile week with modest gains as traders digested the implications of a new Trump presidency and a compliant Federal Reserve. At 4:30 a.m. ET (09:30 GMT), the Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, was flat at 104.372. The index is on track for a gain of just 0.2% this week, even after rising 1.5% on Wednesday after Donald Trump's election victory, when it posted its biggest one-day gain since September 2022. The dollar jumped to a four-month high on Wednesday as traders braced for a new Trump...
Gold prices fell on Friday but held around $2,700 as markets reacted to the implications of Donald Trump's presidency and the Fed's latest interest rate decision. The Fed cut interest rates by 25 basis points as expected on Thursday, while signaling a cautious and considered stance on any further rate cuts. However, markets are pricing in higher rates from the Fed, as the new US president's policies—focused on raising tariffs, cutting taxes and deregulation—are expected to widen deficits and fuel inflation. Meanwhile, demand for gold remains strong. The World Gold Council reported that...
Silver (XAG/USD) met with fresh supply on Friday (08/11) and reversed a major part of the previous day's decent recovery move from over three-week lows. The white metal continued losing ground through the first half of the European session and refreshed daily lows, around the $31.30 area in the last hour. From a technical perspective, any further declines are likely to find some support near the $31.00 level ahead of the $30.85-$30.80 region, or multi-week lows. Some follow-through selling below the 50% Fibonacci retracement level of the August-October rally, around the $30.65-$30.60 area,...