The U.S. dollar was under pressure on Thursday as traders piled into wagers that the Federal Reserve will resume cutting interest rates next month, powering bitcoin to a record high, while a blistering rally in global stocks took a breather. MSCI's gauge of equities in Asia excluding Japan, lingered near its loftiest level since September 2021, taking cues from Wall Street, where the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes hit new closing highs for the second straight day. The dollar fell to a two-week low against a basket of major peers on shifting expectations of U.S. rate cuts, with comments...
Gold held a small gain after traders increased bets the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next month, following pressure from US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Bullion rose as much as 0.6% on Thursday before paring gains to trade near $3,365 an ounce. Prices saw a modest increase in the previous session, supported by a fall in Treasury yields after Bessent suggested the Fed's benchmark rate ought to be at least 1.5 percentage points lower than it is now. Lower borrowing costs and declining yields tend to support gold, as it pays no interest. The increased bets...
Silver prices held above $38.5 per ounce on Thursday, hovering near a three-week high as expectations for deeper Federal Reserve rate cuts this year supported the market. Softer US inflation data suggested President Donald Trump's tariffs are not adding to price pressures, while signs of labor market cooling reinforced the dovish outlook. Markets have nearly fully priced in a September cut, with some anticipating a larger 50-basis-point move. Additionally, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called for multiple rate cuts and said the Fed could kick off the policy rate easing with a half-point...
The U.S. dollar rose slightly against other major currencies on Thursday, but stayed close to multi-week lows as bets that the Federal Reserve will resume cutting interest rates next month ticked higher. Bucking the trend was the yen, with the dollar hitting a three-week low against the Japanese currency after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested the Bank of Japan needs to raise rates again soon, while the Fed cuts aggressively. Rising expectations for monetary easing combined with increasing institutional cryptocurrency investment powered bitcoin to a new record peak earlier in...
Gold prices edged down on Thursday due to a slight uptick in the U.S. dollar index, although expectations of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut in September limited losses. Spot gold fell 0.3% to $3,346.19 per ounce as of 0848 GMT. U.S. gold futures for December delivery were down 0.4% to $3,393.80. The dollar (.DXY), opens new tab rose 0.04% from an over two-week low against its rivals, making gold more expensive for holders of other currencies. "The marginal reduction in gold since this morning could be just chalked down to a slightly firmer dollar," said Nitesh Shah, commodities...