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 Australian Dollar (AUD) remains under pressure against the US Dollar (USD) on Friday, giving back most of its earlier gains despite broad weakness in the Greenback following a disappointing Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) data. The AUD/USD initially surged nearly 70 pips after US jobs data surprised to the downside, but the momentum quickly faded as markets shifted focus to rising expectations of an interest rate cut by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) at its upcoming meeting on August 12. The dovish outlook is keeping the Aussie pinned near multi-week lows. At the time of writing, the...
Silver (XAG/USD) reverses early losses on Friday and climbs back above the $36.50 mark, buoyed by a broad-based sell-off in the US Dollar (USD) after the latest Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report surprised to the downside. The July Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report delivered a significant downside surprise. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the US economy added just 73,000 jobs, well below the 110,000 expected. Adding to the dovish tone, June's payrolls were revised sharply lower to 14,000 from a previously reported 147,000. The Unemployment Rate ticked higher to 4.2%, in line with...
Spot gold prices rose more than 1%, surpassing $3,340 an ounce on Friday (August 1), as the latest U.S. jobs report reinforced evidence of a cooling labor market and strengthened expectations of a Fed rate cut in September. The U.S. economy added only 73,000 jobs in July, short of the 100,000 projected by analysts, while the unemployment rate edged up to 4.2%, up from 4.1% in June. In response, the market now rates a 75% probability of a September rate cut, up sharply from 45% before the report. The data follows higher-than-expected PCE inflation figures released on Thursday, which...
Oil prices were little changed on Friday (August 1st) and headed for weekly gains as investors weighed the impact of further import tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump and the threat of sanctions. Brent crude futures fell 26 cents, or 0.36%, to $71.44 a barrel at 12:12 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude fell 18 cents, or 0.26%, to $69.08. Crude oil prices stabilized on Friday after falling more than 1% in the previous session, although Brent and WTI remained on track for weekly gains of 4.4% and 6%, respectively. Investors have been focused on the potential impact of US...
Gold prices held steady on Friday (August 1st), but were set for a third consecutive weekly loss due to pressure from a stronger dollar and diminishing expectations for a US interest rate cut, while uncertainty surrounding US tariffs on trading partners provided support. Spot gold was steady at $3,293.56 per ounce as of 09:34 GMT. Bullion was down 1.4% for the week. US gold futures edged down 0.1% to $3,344.60. The dollar index hit its highest level since May 29, making gold more expensive for holders of other currencies. "Gold remains weighed down by diminishing speculation of a Fed rate...