Asian debt markets saw foreign outflows in December, for the second month in a row, reversing strong demand from earlier in 2024 on anticipated higher U.S. tariffs under President-elect Donald Trump, slower easing by the Federal Reserve, and reduced regional growth expectations.
* Dollar hits one-month low to yen on dovish Fed, hawkish BOJ. * Japan's Nikkei underperforms region as strong currency weighs. * Investors wary ahead of Trump's inauguration on Monday. By Kevin Buckland.
Spiking Treasury yields and the 'wrecking ball' dollar are creating a negative feedback loop that monetary authorities around the globe may be helping to sustain. Potential culprits include strong U.S. growth, sticky inflation, debt and deficit fears, as well as uncertainty surrounding incoming U.S. President Donald Trump's trade, immigration and 'America First' economic agenda.
* Yen soft but hovering near one-month high. * Dollar to snap six-week winning streak on shifting rate views. * Yuan steady after GDP data meets 2024 target of 5% * Markets await Donald Trump's return to the White House. By Ankur Banerjee.
GUANGZHOU, China, Jan. 16, 2025 In accordance with the government work report that the governor of Guangdong province delivered at the Third Session of the 14th Guangdong Provincial People's Congress on January 15, 2025, the province's GDP was estimated to surpass 14 trillion?yuan?in 2024, ranking first in China for 36 consecutive years, and its total imports and exports increased by 9.8% year-...
The Bank of Japan is likely to raise interest rates next week barring any market shocks when U.S. President-elect Donald Trump takes office, and maintain a pledge to keep pushing up borrowing costs if the economy continues to recover, said five sources familiar with its thinking.
* 24. * Void of Trump-driven shock, BOJ seen hiking rates to 0.5% * Focus shifting to BOJ's guidance on future policy path. * BOJ unlikely to give clarity on pace, timing of next move. * No major change expected in BOJ's hawkish policy guidance. By Leika Kihara.
India's central bank is conducting buy/sell dollar/rupee swaps alongside selling dollars in the spot market to support the rupee, traders said, which fuelled a further drop in forward premiums. The Reserve Bank of India's buy/sells swaps are largely for spot over June, July and December, according to traders. The 1-year forward implied yield dropped to 2.36% and is down 18 basis points this week.
* Fed's Waller says 3 or 4 rate cuts possible this year. * Silver on track for third weekly gain in a row. * Palladium faces biggest weekly decline since August. * Trump set to begin his second term next week. By Rahul Paswan.
* Bessent makes Senate debut as Trump's economic point man. * Hedge fund manager a vocal advocate for Trump's tariff agenda. * Bessent says US needs stronger sanctions on Russian oil. * High debt curbs US crisis-fighting fiscal capacity, Bessent says. * Bessent vows to maintain dollar reserve currency status. By David Lawder.
President-elect Donald Trump's pick for Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, said on Thursday that the dollar should remain the world's reserve currency, the Federal Reserve should stay independent and that he is ready to impose tougher sanctions on Russia's oil sector.
Prices of base metals edged higher on Friday, as support from a softer dollar and expectations of further U.S. rate cuts offset uncertainty over potential tariffs from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was up 0.4% at $9,267 a metric ton, as of 0713 GMT, hitting a fresh five-week high.
In what could be interpreted as another optimistic signal for cryptocurrencies, Scott Bessent, President-elect Donald Trump?s nominee for Treasury Secretary, argued against the concept of?a central bank digital?currency in the U.S. on Thursday. What Happened: Bessent was taking questions from members of the Senate Finance Committee for confirmation to the Treasury Department.
The Reserve Bank of India likely sold U.S. dollars before the local spot market opened on Friday to support the rupee, without which the currency would have hit a new all-time low, traders said. The rupee was at 86.5675 per dollar at 9:06 a.m. IST, marginally lower than the previous session.
The yuan strengthened
against the dollar on Friday and looked set for its first weekly
gain in over a month, after a slew of data showed China's
economy ended 2024 on better footing than expected.
The World Bank on Thursday warned that U.S. across-the-board tariffs of 10% could reduce already lackluster global economic growth of 2.7% in 2025 by 0.3 percentage point if America's trading partners retaliate with tariffs of their own.
* Dollar droops after dovish comments from Fed Governor Waller. * Chinese shares supported as 2024 GDP hits Beijing's 5% target. * Yen hits new high on growing bets for BOJ rate hike next week. * Japan's Nikkei underperforms region as strong currency weighs. By Sin?ad Carew and Kevin Buckland.
China's economy grew 5% last year, matching the government's target, but in a lopsided fashion, with many people complaining of worsening living standards as Beijing struggles to transfer its industrial and export gains to consumers.
Most base metals traded within a tight range on Friday, as support from a softer dollar and expectations of further U.S. interest rate cuts was partially offset by uncertainty over potential tariffs from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange held its ground at $9,241 a metric ton by 0128 GMT.
* China's Q4 GDP grows 5.4% y/y, beating market forecast. * 2024 GDP expands 5.0%, meeting the government's target. * But growth was unbalanced, led by industry and exports. * Consumption lags as workers faces uncertainties. * 2025 outlook clouded by trade tensions as Trump returns.
China's economy grew 5.4% in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, official data showed on Friday, significantly beating analysts' expectations and enabling the government to meet its annual growth target.
China's industrial output in December rose 6.2% from a year earlier, quickening from a 5.4% pace in November, pointing to resilience in the manufacturing sector amid stimulus measures, data showed on Friday. The official data from the National Bureau of Statistics beat expectations for a 5.4% rise in a Reuters poll of 38 analysts.
China's economy grew 5.4% in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, official data showed on Friday, significantly beating analysts' expectations and enabling the government to meet its annual growth target.
Oil prices climbed on Friday, heading for a fourth weekly gain, driven by concerns over tighter supply following U.S. sanctions on Russian oil producers and signals from a Federal Reserve official of potential interest rate cuts. Brent crude futures rose 13 cents, or 0.2%, to $81.42 per barrel by 0113 GMT, after declining 0.9% in the previous session.
* Yen hovering near one-month high. * Dollar on back foot as investors digest data, Waller remarks. * China's GDP data due; analysts expect target of 5% to be met. * Markets await Donald Trump's return to the White House. By Ankur Banerjee.
Gold prices firmed on Friday and were headed for a third straight week of gains after U.S. data this week hinted that the Federal Reserve might continue easing interest rates this year. FUNDAMENTALS. * Spot gold was flat at $2,715.21 per ounce as of 0047 GMT, hovering near a more than one-month peak hit on Thursday.
The World Bank's Global Economic Prospects report, released Thursday, highlights a fragile outlook as inflation, trade disruptions, geopolitical tensions and policy uncertainty weigh on momentum. The global economy is expected to stay stuck at 2.7% growth in 2025-?26, a pace too weak to drive real economic progress.
China's economy likely rebounded in the fourth quarter as several rounds of policy stimulus kicked in, enabling the government to largely meet its 2024 growth target, though the risk of new U.S. tariffs could hold back a broader recovery. A Reuters poll predicts gross domestic product grew 5.0% in October-December from a year earlier, quickening from the 4.6% pace in the third quarter.
* China's Q4 GDP growth seen at 5.0%, vs 4.6% in Q3. * 2024 growth estimated at 4.9%, largely meeting official target. * GDP, Dec activity data due 0200 GMT on Friday. * 2025 outlook clouded by trade tensions as Trump returns. * Policymakers pledge to ramp up stimulus this year. By Kevin Yao.
* Morgan Stanley (MS) up after higher Q4 profits. * UnitedHealth (UNH) falls on missing quarterly sales estimates. * Investors parse retail sales, jobless claims data. By Chuck Mikolajczak. U.S. stocks dipped on Thursday as a jump in the prior session cooled, while investors eyed the most recent corporate earnings and gauged economic data to determine the path of Federal Reserve rate cuts.
Former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney announced on Thursday that he is running to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as leader of the ruling Liberal Party. Carney, 59, launched his bid at an event in the western city of Edmonton, casting himself as an outsider who was not part of Trudeau's unpopular government.
* Fed's Waller says three or four cuts possible this year. * US retail sales, jobless claims softer than expected. * Philly Fed Index surges, analysts say could be an aberration. * US 2/10 yield curve flattens slightly. * US rate futures price in 43 bps of easing in 2025. By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss.
* Wall St muted after Europe, Asia gains. * Trump's Treasury pick in the spotlight. * Asian stocks boosted by tech, Europe by luxury, chipmakers. * Yen rises on growing rate hike wagers. By Sin?ad Carew and Alun John.
-U.S. central bankers project more limited interest-rate cuts in 2025 than the full percentage point of reductions they delivered in 2024, given slower progress toward their 2% inflation goal, a still-strong labor market, and a lot of uncertainty over the potential impact of tax cuts, tariffs and other economic policies in Donald Trump's second term as president.
Scott Bessent, who is immersed in the Senate confirmation process as President-elect Donald Trump's Treasury secretary nominee, only addressed Crypto (CRCW) briefly.
Argentina's central bank on Thursday passed regulations to promote currency competition, the monetary authority said, including allowing dollar-denominated commercial payments in the local market. Payment processors have until Feb. 28 to roll out tools to streamline commercial payments in dollars, the central bank said in a statement.
* Bessent makes Senate debut as Trump's economic point man. * Hedge fund manager a vocal advocate for Trump's tariff agenda. * Bessent says US needs stronger sanctions on Russian oil. * High debt curbs US crisis-fighting fiscal capacity, Bessent says. * Bessent vows to maintain dollar reserve currency status. By David Lawder.
Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Austan Goolsbee said he feels more comfortable that the labor market is stabilizing, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.
The World Bank on Thursday warned that U.S. across-the-board tariffs of 10% could reduce already lackluster global economic growth of 2.7% in 2025 by 0.3 percentage point if America's trading partners retaliate with tariffs of their own.
* * Trade policy shifts, uncertainty creating headwinds. * Developing countries face lowest long-term growth since 2000. By Andrea Shalal. The World Bank on Thursday warned that U.S. across-the-board tariffs of 10% could reduce already lackluster global economic growth of 2.7% in 2025 by 0.3 percentage point if America's trading partners retaliate with tariffs of their own.
American Express Co (AXP): * AMERICAN EXPRESS STATEMENT ON AGREEMENTS WITH U.S DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE AND FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM. * AMERICAN EXPRESS (AXP)- PURSUANT TO AGREEMENTS & AFTER CREDITING, CO TO PAY ABOUT $230 MILLION IN TOTAL TO RESOLVE MATTERS. * AMERICAN EXPRESS (AXP): COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH U.S DOJ AGREEMENTS LARGELY RESERVED FOR IN PRIOR PERIODS, DO NOT IMPACT 2024 GUIDANCE PREVIOUSLY PROVIDED.
* Recently launched New York Fed measure held steady as of Jan. 7. * Fed officials still see no imminent need to stop balance sheet drawdown. * Wall Street pushing back end of balance sheet drawdown. By Michael S. Derby.
Staff at central bank umbrella group, the Bank for International Settlements, have warned of a global bout of stagflation if trade tariffs promised by soon-to-be-U.S. President Donald Trump continue to drive up the dollar. Stagflation - the combination of strong inflation and weak economic growth is viewed as Kryptonite by economists as consumers and firms are hit from both sides.
Staff at central bank umbrella group, the Bank for International Settlements, have warned of a global bout of stagflation if trade tariffs promised by soon-to-be-U.S. President Donald Trump continue to drive up the dollar. Stagflation - the combination of strong inflation and weak economic growth is viewed as Kryptonite by economists as consumers and firms are hit from both sides.
- The Federal Reserve should stay independent, Trump's pick to be U.S. Treasury Secretary told a Senate panel on Thursday. "I think on monetary policy decisions, the FOMC should be independent," Scott Bessent told the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, referring to the Fed's monetary policysetting panel, the Federal Open Market Committee.
* Wall St muted after Europe, Asia gain. * US earnings kick off with strong showing from banks. * Asian stocks boosted by tech, Europe by luxury, chipmakers. * Yen rises on growing rate hike wagers. By Sin?ad Carew and Alun John.
-??2,228.26 per troy ounce?representing a 41% rise within 12 months - LONDON, Jan. 16, 2025 The price of gold has climbed to its highest level ever recorded in sterling terms, driven by a combination of global economic trends and UK-specific factors.?Over the past 12 months, gold has appreciated by ?647.63 rising from a January 2024 low of ?1,580.631 to today's ?2,228.262?per troy ounce.
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