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...
The USD/CHF pair weakened to around 0.8125 during early European trading hours. The US dollar weakened against the Swiss franc (CHF) despite a hawkish stance from US Federal Reserve officials. Traders are bracing for further developments surrounding US President Donald Trump's tariff policy ahead of the deadline. On Wednesday, Trump announced that the United States would impose a 15% tariff on imports from South Korea. The agreement includes a $350 billion commitment from South Korea for US-owned and -controlled investments. Meanwhile, US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick announced that...
Silver prices hovered near $37 per ounce on Thursday, steadying after falling more than 2% in the previous session. The decline followed the Federal Reserve's decision to keep interest rates unchanged at 4.25%–4.5%, reflecting a cautious stance on future rate cuts despite political pressure from President Trump and dissenting votes from Governors Michelle Bowman and Christopher Waller. Fed Chair Jerome Powell reiterated that it is still too early to consider cutting rates and gave little indication of when easing might resume. In response, markets pared back expectations for rate...
Gold prices rebounded on Thursday from a one-month low hit in the previous session, as trade uncertainty sparked by the announcement of new US tariffs boosted bullion's appeal, even as expectations of a US interest rate cut in September eased. Spot gold rose 0.5% to $3,292.24 an ounce, as of 02:30 GMT. Bullion hit its lowest level since June 30 at $3,267.79 on Wednesday. US gold futures fell 0.2% to $3,287. "Gold at levels below $3,300 has attracted buying interest from traders as a value strategy, especially with the prevailing economic uncertainty, which aligns with Trump's threat of...
The Japanese Yen (JPY) edges higher against a softer US Dollar (USD) during the Asian session on Thursday and recovers a part of the previous day's slide to its lowest level since early April. Data released from Japan earlier today showed that Industrial Production unexpectedly grew in June, while strong Retail Sales pointed to resilience in consumer spending. This, along with some repositioning trade ahead of the crucial Bank of Japan (BoJ) policy update, offers some support to the JPY. Investors will look for signals on how the recent US-Japan trade agreement might influence the BoJ's...
The Australian Dollar (AUD) appreciates on Thursday, halting its five-day losing streak. The AUD/USD pair maintains its position following the release of key economic data from Australia and its close trading partner, China. Australia's Retail Sales rose 1.2% month-over-month in June, compared to 0.5% in May (revised from 0.2%). The reading came in above the market expectations of 0.4%. Retail Sales climbed 0.3% QoQ in the second quarter, compared to 0.1% in Q1 (revised from 0%). China's NBS Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) dropped to 49.3 in July, as against 49.7 reported in...