The Australian dollar held its recent gains around $0.649 on Thursday, as a weaker US dollar and an uptick in China's services PMI outweighed a decline in domestic trade balance. The greenback remained under pressure amid soft US economic data, with traders awaiting trade and jobless claims figures later in the day. The Aussie found further support after China's Caixin Services PMI, a key indicator from its largest trading partner, rose to 51.1 in May from 50.7 in April, signaling continued expansion. Meanwhile, Australia's trade surplus narrowed to AUD 5.41 billion in April, below...
The Japanese yen held firm around 142.9 on Thursday, after gaining nearly 1% in the previous session, supported by broad dollar weakness following disappointing US economic data. Recent indicators showed a sharp slowdown in private-sector hiring and an unexpected contraction in the US services sector, stoking fears that trade policy uncertainty is beginning to weigh on the broader economy. Domestically, data revealed a fourth consecutive decline in real wages in April, as inflation continued to outpace nominal wage growth. This deepens concerns over Japan's economic outlook, especially as...
Silver price (XAG/USD) edges higher after registering losses in the previous two successive sessions, trading around $34.50 per troy ounce during the Asian hours on Thursday. Prices of the precious metals, including Silver, receive support from safe-haven flows amid growing global economic and political uncertainty. The non-yielding assets like Silver receive support after the release of soft economic data from the United States (US), which reinforced the odds of the Federal Reserve (Fed) reducing interest rates at least twice in 2025. Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) Services...
Gold price (XAU/USD) edges lower following an Asian session uptick to the $3,384 area amid a slight US Dollar (USD) bounce, though the near-term bias seems tilted firmly in favor of bullish traders. Weaker-than-expected US economic data released on Wednesday boosted market expectations that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will lower borrowing costs further in 2025. This keeps the US Treasury bond yields depressed, which, along with US fiscal concerns, should cap the USD and lend support to the non-yielding yellow metal. Apart from this, persistent trade-related uncertainties and rising...
The EUR/USD pair trades with caution, slightly above the key level of 1.1400 during Asian trading hours on Thursday. The major currency pair is expected to remain sideways, with investors awaiting the European Central Bank's (ECB) interest rate decision announcement at 12:15 GMT. The ECB is almost certain to reduce its key borrowing rates by 25 basis points (bps), a move that will lower the Deposit Facility Rate and Main Refinancing Operations Rate to 2% and 2.15%, respectively. This will be the seventh consecutive interest rate cut by the ECB and the eighth since June last year, when it...