S. Africa Central Bank Sees ‘Amazing' Chance to Lower CPI Goal
'There is a really amazing opportunity right now,' David Fowkes, a member of the South African Reserve Bank's monetary policy committee, told an audience on Tuesday in Soweto, south of Johannesburg. 'This is surely the best opportunity we're ever going to get.'
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Yahoo
3 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Gold edges up as investors await US-Russia meeting
Gold (GC=F) Gold prices edged higher on Wednesday morning, buoyed by a softer US dollar following mild US inflation data that solidified expectations for an interest rate cut in September. Meanwhile, market participants looked ahead to this week's high-stakes talks between US and Russian officials regarding the ongoing war in Ukraine. At the time of writing, gold futures rose 0.2% to $3,404.90 per ounce, while spot gold inched up by 0.1% to $3,357.03 per ounce. "The fall in the USD enabled a moderate bounce in the gold price, with the precious metal oscillating around the $3,350 level ahead of the Trump-Putin meeting on Friday," said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade. Read more: London Stock Exchange open to dual listing of Indian companies, says LSEG boss "If the meeting in Alaska doesn't resolve anything and the war in Ukraine continues, gold could be making a push back towards $3,400 once again," he added. The uptick in gold came as US inflation data, released on Tuesday, showed a modest rise in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which increased by 0.2% in July, following a 0.3% increase in June. Year-over-year, the CPI was up 2.7%, signalling that inflation pressures are cooling. This data reinforced market expectations that the Federal Reserve may soon cut interest rates, which tends to boost demand for non-yielding assets like gold. The decline in the US dollar supported the precious metal's rise, as a weaker dollar makes gold more affordable for holders of other currencies. Oil (BZ=F, CL=F) Oil prices were lower in early European trading, after industry data revealed an increase in US crude inventories, reinforcing expectations that the peak summer demand season is winding down. Brent (BZ=F) crude futures lost 0.2% to trade at $65.16 per barrel, at the time of writing, while West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) futures retreated by 0.3% to $63.02 a barrel. The US driving season typically runs from Memorial Day weekend in late May through early September, and with the end of summer approaching, demand is expected to taper off. Read more: The most popular stocks and funds investors bought in July Citing figures from the American Petroleum Institute (API), market sources reported that US crude stocks, in the world's largest oil consumer, rose by 1.52 million barrels last week. Gasoline inventories saw a decline, while distillate stocks experienced a slight increase. Oil investors appeared to be in 'wait-and-see mode' ahead of the meeting between US president Donald Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin, according to ING commodity strategists. "The outcome could remove some of the sanction risk hanging over the market," the ING strategists added. Pound (GBPUSD=X, GBPEUR=X) The pound was higher against the dollar this Wednesday morning and may climb even further as US inflation data reinforced expectations for a Fed rate cut in September. Sterling was up 0.3% to $1.3543 at the time of writing. The US Consumer Price Index (CPI) showed a year-over-year increase of 2.7% in July, matching the previous month's rise and coming in slightly below the anticipated 2.8% gain. Meanwhile, the core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose 3.1% in July, higher than the 2.9% increase seen in June and surpassing the consensus forecast of 3%. Stocks: Create your watchlist and portfolio With these figures in hand, markets are now pricing in around a 94% probability of a Fed rate cut at the September meeting, up from 86% just a day earlier, according to the CME FedWatch tool. Fed governor Michelle Bowman had already signalled last week that three interest rate cuts could be on the horizon for the remainder of the year. The US dollar index ( which measures the greenback against a basket of six currencies, was down 0.3% to 97.81. Elsewhere in currencies, the pound was steady against the euro, trading at €1.1565 at the time of writing. In equities, the FTSE 100 (^FTSE) was higher on Wednesday morning, up 0.4% to 9,182 in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
3 minutes ago
- Yahoo
FTSE 100 LIVE: Stocks rise as traders await Trump-Putin summit
The FTSE 100 (^FTSE) and European stocks were higher on Wednesday as markets started to turn their attention to the summit in Alaska between US president Donald Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin on Friday. The pair are set to discuss ending Russia's war in Ukraine. Meanwhile, German inflation eased to 1.8% in July, down from 2% in June, the federal statistics office revealed. The yield on 30-year German government bonds slipped on the back of the news, after hitting a 14-year high on Tuesday. Analysts pointed to Dutch pension reforms, which are expected to reduce demand for long-dated bonds, and expectations for a big increase in German government spending as the main reasons behind Tuesday's sell-off. The final reading matched preliminary data previously released by the statistics office, with the figures representing German consumer prices harmonised to compare with other European Union countries. Stocks: Create your watchlist and portfolio The July inflation rate marks a continued moderation in price pressures across Europe's largest economy, with the rate now falling below the European Central Bank's (ECB) 2% target. London's benchmark index (^FTSE) was 0.2% higher in early trade. Germany's DAX (^GDAXI) rose 0.6% and the CAC (^FCHI) in Paris headed 0.3% into the green. The pan-European STOXX 600 (^STOXX) was up 0.4%. Wall Street is set for a positive start as S&P 500 futures (ES=F), Dow futures (YM=F) and Nasdaq futures (NQ=F) were all in the green. The pound was 0.3% up against the US dollar (GBPUSD=X) at 1.3544. Follow along for live updates throughout the day: German inflation eases to 1.8% in July German inflation eased to 1.8% in July, down from 2% in June, the federal statistics office revealed on Tuesday The yield on 30-year German government bonds slipped on the back of the news, after hitting a 14-year high on Tuesday. Analysts pointed to Dutch pension reforms, which are expected to reduce demand for long-dated bonds, and expectations for a big increase in German government spending as the main reasons behind Tuesday's sell-off. The final reading matched preliminary data previously released by the statistics office, with the figures representing German consumer prices harmonised to compare with other European Union countries. The July inflation rate marks a continued moderation in price pressures across Europe's largest economy, with the rate now falling below the European Central Bank's (ECB) 2% target Asia and US overnight Stocks in Asia were pushed higher overnight with the Nikkei (^N225) rising 1.3% on the day in Japan to another record high, while the Hang Seng (^HSI) soared 2.5% in Hong Kong. The Shanghai Composite ( was 0.5% up by the end of the session. In South Korea, the Kospi (^KS11) added 1.1% on the day. However, there was some bond market weakness in Japan this morning, as their 5-year auction had its weakest demand ratio since 2020, and the 5-year yield is up 2.9bps this morning. That comes as PPI inflation was also a bit stronger-than-expected overnight, only falling back to 2.6% year-on-year in July, compared to the 2.5% expected. Across the pond on Wall Street, the S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose 1.1% at an all-time high after the US CPI print raised expectations for a Fed rate cut next month. The tech-heavy Nasdaq (^IXIC) was 1.4% higher and the Dow Jones (^DJI) also gained 1.1%. Jim Reid at Deutsche Bank said: Coming up Good morning everyone, and welcome back to our markets live blog. As usual we will be taking a deep dive into what's moving markets and happening across the global economy today. To the day ahead it's a quiet one on the calendar, but central bank speakers include the Fed's Barkin, Goolsbee and Bostic, and earnings releases include Cisco. Here's a snapshot of what's on the agenda: 7am: Trading updates: Balfour Beatty, Beazley, CLS Holdings, Hill & Smith, Persimmon 9am: IEA Oil market report 12pm: US MBA Mortgage Applications 3.30pm: US Crude Oil InventoriesGerman inflation eases to 1.8% in July German inflation eased to 1.8% in July, down from 2% in June, the federal statistics office revealed on Tuesday The yield on 30-year German government bonds slipped on the back of the news, after hitting a 14-year high on Tuesday. Analysts pointed to Dutch pension reforms, which are expected to reduce demand for long-dated bonds, and expectations for a big increase in German government spending as the main reasons behind Tuesday's sell-off. The final reading matched preliminary data previously released by the statistics office, with the figures representing German consumer prices harmonised to compare with other European Union countries. The July inflation rate marks a continued moderation in price pressures across Europe's largest economy, with the rate now falling below the European Central Bank's (ECB) 2% target German inflation eased to 1.8% in July, down from 2% in June, the federal statistics office revealed on Tuesday The yield on 30-year German government bonds slipped on the back of the news, after hitting a 14-year high on Tuesday. Analysts pointed to Dutch pension reforms, which are expected to reduce demand for long-dated bonds, and expectations for a big increase in German government spending as the main reasons behind Tuesday's sell-off. The final reading matched preliminary data previously released by the statistics office, with the figures representing German consumer prices harmonised to compare with other European Union countries. The July inflation rate marks a continued moderation in price pressures across Europe's largest economy, with the rate now falling below the European Central Bank's (ECB) 2% target Asia and US overnight Stocks in Asia were pushed higher overnight with the Nikkei (^N225) rising 1.3% on the day in Japan to another record high, while the Hang Seng (^HSI) soared 2.5% in Hong Kong. The Shanghai Composite ( was 0.5% up by the end of the session. In South Korea, the Kospi (^KS11) added 1.1% on the day. However, there was some bond market weakness in Japan this morning, as their 5-year auction had its weakest demand ratio since 2020, and the 5-year yield is up 2.9bps this morning. That comes as PPI inflation was also a bit stronger-than-expected overnight, only falling back to 2.6% year-on-year in July, compared to the 2.5% expected. Across the pond on Wall Street, the S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose 1.1% at an all-time high after the US CPI print raised expectations for a Fed rate cut next month. The tech-heavy Nasdaq (^IXIC) was 1.4% higher and the Dow Jones (^DJI) also gained 1.1%. Jim Reid at Deutsche Bank said: Stocks in Asia were pushed higher overnight with the Nikkei (^N225) rising 1.3% on the day in Japan to another record high, while the Hang Seng (^HSI) soared 2.5% in Hong Kong. The Shanghai Composite ( was 0.5% up by the end of the session. In South Korea, the Kospi (^KS11) added 1.1% on the day. However, there was some bond market weakness in Japan this morning, as their 5-year auction had its weakest demand ratio since 2020, and the 5-year yield is up 2.9bps this morning. That comes as PPI inflation was also a bit stronger-than-expected overnight, only falling back to 2.6% year-on-year in July, compared to the 2.5% expected. Across the pond on Wall Street, the S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose 1.1% at an all-time high after the US CPI print raised expectations for a Fed rate cut next month. The tech-heavy Nasdaq (^IXIC) was 1.4% higher and the Dow Jones (^DJI) also gained 1.1%. Jim Reid at Deutsche Bank said: Coming up Good morning everyone, and welcome back to our markets live blog. As usual we will be taking a deep dive into what's moving markets and happening across the global economy today. To the day ahead it's a quiet one on the calendar, but central bank speakers include the Fed's Barkin, Goolsbee and Bostic, and earnings releases include Cisco. Here's a snapshot of what's on the agenda: 7am: Trading updates: Balfour Beatty, Beazley, CLS Holdings, Hill & Smith, Persimmon 9am: IEA Oil market report 12pm: US MBA Mortgage Applications 3.30pm: US Crude Oil Inventories Good morning everyone, and welcome back to our markets live blog. As usual we will be taking a deep dive into what's moving markets and happening across the global economy today. To the day ahead it's a quiet one on the calendar, but central bank speakers include the Fed's Barkin, Goolsbee and Bostic, and earnings releases include Cisco. Here's a snapshot of what's on the agenda: 7am: Trading updates: Balfour Beatty, Beazley, CLS Holdings, Hill & Smith, Persimmon 9am: IEA Oil market report 12pm: US MBA Mortgage Applications 3.30pm: US Crude Oil Inventories
Bloomberg
5 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Stocks Hit Record; US CPI Boosts Fed Cut Bets; Bessent On US-China Deal
Global stocks hit a record after US inflation data fuels bets on a Fed cut next month, while the Treasury Secretary says 50 basis points should be in play. Scott Bessent rules out the possibility that Chinese investment in the US could be part of any trade pact. And Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy says he won't cede the Donbas region to Russia, as he pushes to be included in Friday's talks between Washington and Moscow. We also get the details on Evergrande's delisting in Hong Kong, and insight into the next big energy trade that European investors are piling into: mega-batteries. Our guest Tanvi Kanchan, Anand Rathi Shares & Stock Brokers Head of Business & Strategy shares her thoughts on the Fed and US economy, tariffs and the US-India relationship. (Source: Bloomberg)
