Silver held firm above $38 per ounce on Friday after two consecutive sessions of gains, as investors awaited Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's speech at the Jackson Hole symposium for signals on the interest rate outlook. Markets remain cautious that Powell could push back against expectations for a near-term rate cut. Futures currently imply about a 75% probability of a 25 basis point cut in September, down from more than 90% a week earlier. Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid argued that "modestly restrictive" monetary policy is still appropriate given inflation risks, while...
GBP/USD moves little after four days of losses, trading around 1.3410 during the Asian hours on Friday. The pair faced challenges as the US Dollar (USD) gained ground following the key economic data from the United States (US) released on Thursday. Traders await Fed Chair Jerome Powell's speech at the Jackson Hole Symposium in Wyoming to gain clues on the September policy outlook. The preliminary S&P Global US Composite PMI picked up pace in August, with the index at 55.4 versus 55.1 prior. Meanwhile, the US Manufacturing PMI rose to 53.3 from 49.8 prior, surpassing the market consensus...
The USD/CHF pair posts a fresh weekly high near 0.8100 during the late Asian session on Friday. The Swiss Franc pair advances as the US Dollar (USD) trades firmly ahead of Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell's speech at the Jackson Hole (JH) Symposium at 14:00 GMT. During the press time, the US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback's value against six major currencies, posts a fresh 10-day high near 98.85. The US Dollar has attracted significant bids as financial market participants expect Fed Chair Powell to maintain his argument that interest rates should remain at their...
Gold prices edged lower on Friday on a stronger dollar while investors awaited U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's speech at the annual Jackson Hole symposium that could offer fresh clues on the monetary policy path. Spot gold fell 0.3% to $3,329.19 per ounce by 0607 GMT. U.S. gold futures for December delivery lost 0.3% to $3,372.10. Fed officials appeared lukewarm on Thursday to the idea of a rate cut next month as investors geared up for Powell's speech, due at 1400 GMT on Friday. "With a Russia-Ukraine peace deal still a possibility, and the USD attracting some buyers, gold is...
The Japanese Yen (JPY) continued to weaken against the broadly stronger US Dollar (USD) for the second consecutive day, falling to a three-week low during the Asian session on Friday. Uncertainty over the likely timing of the Bank of Japan's (BoJ) next interest rate hike continued to weaken the JPY, which failed to find any relief from Japanese consumer inflation figures. In fact, Japan's National Consumer Price Index (CPI) indicated that underlying inflation remains strong, supporting the argument for further policy normalization by the BoJ. Meanwhile, the US Dollar (USD) maintained its...