* Oil prices climb over 2% * Iran issues directive on country's near-weapons-grade uranium. * Traders now see 58% chance of at least one rate hike by 2026-end. By Ishaan Arora. Gold prices fell 1% on Thursday as climbing oil prices heightened inflation worries, boosting bets for U.S. rate hikes and lifting Treasury yields and the dollar, which added more pressure on bullion.
* Weekly jobless claims fall 3,000 to 209,000; layoffs remain low despite high-profile tech job cuts. * Continuing claims increase 6,000 to a still relatively low 1.782 million. * Single-family housing starts drop 9.0% in April; building permits decrease 2.6% By Lucia Mutikani.
U.S. manufacturing activity strengthened in May, scaling the highest level in four years, as businesses boosted inventories to guard against potential shortages and rising prices related to the war with Iran. S&P Global said its flash manufacturing PMI increased to 55.3 this month, the highest reading since May 2022, from 54.5 in April.
U.S. single-family homebuilding dropped sharply in April and permits for future construction fell, suggesting the housing market could remain subdued for a while as the Iran war drives up mortgage rates and an oversupply of new houses persists.
U.S. single-family homebuilding dropped sharply in April and permits for future construction fell, suggesting the housing market could remain subdued for a while as the Iran war drives up mortgage rates and an oversupply of new houses persists.
April housing starts fell by 2.8% from the previous month to a 1.465 million annual rate, compared with expectations compiled by Bloomberg as of 7:30 am ET for a 1.410 million rate after an increase to a 1.507 million pace in March. Building permits jumped by 5.8% to a 1.442 million rate in April, above the 1.384 million rate expected and following a decrease to a 1.363 million rate in March.
US initial jobless claims fell to a level of 209,000 in the employment survey week ended May 16 from an upwardly revised 212,000 level in the previous week, compared with expectations for a smaller decrease to 210,000 in survey of analysts compiled by Bloomberg as of 7:30 am ET. Initial claims were at a level of 215,000 in the employment survey week ended April 18.
The number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits fell last week, pointing to labor market resilience and giving the Federal Reserve room to focus on surging inflation from the war with Iran. There are no signs yet that employers are responding to rising costs by reducing headcount.
The number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits fell last week, pointing to labor market resilience and giving the Federal Reserve room to focus on rising inflation. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits slipped 3,000 to a seasonally adjusted 209,000 for the week ended May 16, the Labor Department said on Thursday.
The US dollar rose against its major trading partners early Thursday ahead of a busy schedule of economic releases, starting with the Philadelphia Federal Reserve's manufacturing reading for May, weekly jobless claims, and housing starts data for April, all at 8:30 am ET.
* Euro zone composite PMI lowest since October 2023. * European Commission downgrades forecasts. * War impacts add to domestic worries in UK. By Jonathan Cable and Mark John.
* Iran hardens stance on nuclear issue in peace talks, sources say. * Euro zone bond yields rise as oil prices jump and inflation concerns mount. * PMI data and Nomura economists highlight stagflation risks from Iran war. By Amanda Cooper.
* Two new EX30 battery fires prompt Thai watchdog to weigh civil action. * Volvo faces complaints as customers await battery fixes after global recall. * Repair timelines vary, with some markets waiting until late-2026 for replacements. By Chayut Setboonsarng and Marie Mannes.
* Euro zone composite PMI lowest since October 2023. * Services activity contracted at the sharpest pace since February 2021. * Cost pressures rose sharply due to Middle East war. By Jonathan Cable.
Economic activity in the euro zone shrank at its sharpest rate in more than two-and-a-half years in May, as a war-driven surge in living costs hammered demand for services and pushed overall input price inflation to its highest in three-and-a-half years, a survey showed on Thursday.
By Helen Jewell. The Middle East conflict has pushed oil above $100 a barrel, stoked inflation, dented growth and forced central banks back toward tightening. This unprecedented spending push could represent a long-term source of earnings support, especially for companies in the U.S. and Asia that provide much-needed memory and power. AI is also highly energy intensive. VALUATIONS IN PERSPECTIVE.
A selloff in the U.S. Treasury market has pushed long-term yields dangerously close to?and in some cases above?the 5% threshold, igniting an intense ideological battle among Wall Street's top macro minds over whether the global economy is entering a permanent structural shift or a temporary disruption.
For most households, the cost of money is part of the cost of living. For a variety of reasons, U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly demanded lower interest rates throughout his first and now second terms in office. But his Iran war and related energy shock have pushed annual inflation back above 4% this month, in all likelihood, and gas pump prices are more than 40% higher than a year ago.
India's private sector growth eased in May as a manufacturing slowdown driven by the Middle East war and cooling international demand offset a marginal pick-up in the service economy, a survey showed.
* JAMIE DIMON SAYS INTEREST RATES COULD BE MUCH HIGHER FROM HERE - BLOOMBERG NEWS Source text: [ID:https://tinyurl.com/5dvfxsbp] Further company coverage:
* BOJ should raise rates at 'appropriate pace', Koeda says. * Koeda calls for attention to cost of negative real rates. * Koeda sees risk oil costs may stay high for prolonged period. * Inflation risks bigger than risk of Japan suffering recession. * Remarks suggest further hawkish shift in nine-member board. By Leika Kihara.
By Kevin Buckland. The U.S. dollar hovered below a six-week peak on Thursday after pulling back on rising hopes that Washington is nearing a deal with Tehran to end the war in the Middle East. The Australian dollar declined following a surprise rise in the unemployment rate to the highest since 2021, which lessened the case for higher interest rates.
Bank of Japan board member Junko Koeda said on Thursday the central bank should raise interest rates at an "appropriate pace" as underlying inflation may exceed its 2% target due to the prolonged conflict in the Middle East.
Australian employment unexpectedly fell in April while the jobless rate jumped to the highest level since late 2021, a possible sign the labour market might be loosening enough to stave off a near-term interest rate hike.
Japan's manufacturing activity slowed slightly in May, while service sector growth ground to a halt for the first time in over a year, as surging costs linked to the Middle East conflict weighed on confidence, a business survey showed on Thursday. -- The S&P Global flash Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 54.5 in May, from 55.1 in April.
The U.S. Fed issued a revised proposal on the structure of payment accounts, taking the next step to build on an earlier pitch for so-called skinny accounts.
The Toronto Stock Exchange on Wednesday recovered much of the 500-plus points lost over the prior two sessions as CIBC said "the bar to get the Bank of Canada into a tightening stance is higher than the market thinks", amid fears higher rates would lift borrowing costs for many companies and sideline them and consumers when they are needed to help spur the economy.
The U.S. Federal Reserve proposed Wednesday adopting a new, more limited form of a payment account that would allow firms like fintechs to move money across the Fed's payment rails without enjoying all the backstops available to traditional banks.
Federal Reserve officials flagged the possibility of higher interest rates if the Middle East conflict drags on and keeps inflation above the 2% goal, minutes from the central bank's April meeting showed Wednesday.
Federal Reserve officials' concerns about inflation being stoked by the Iran war intensified last month, with a growing number open to a possible rate hike, in a sign that incoming Chair Kevin Warsh will inherit an increasingly hawkish crew of central bankers.
Citigroup Inc (C): * CITIGROUP SHAREHOLDERS MEETING BEGINS. * CITIGROUP CEO JANE FRASER SAYS U.S. CONSUMER CREDIT SHOWS BROAD RESILIENCY. * CITIGROUP CEO FRASER SAYS ASIAN ECONOMIES SHOWS THE HIGHER VULNERABILITIES TO HIGH FUEL PRICES. * CITIGROUP CEO FRASER SAYS MIDDLE EAST DYNAMICS STILL PRESENT SIGNIFICANT DOWNSIDE RISK TO GLOBAL ECONOMY.
A majority of FOMC participants appear to be leaning away from rate cuts for now and were open to the possibility of rate increases, minutes of the April 28-29 meeting released Wednesday showed.
* Fed policymakers see rising inflation risks, with rate hike possible. * April meeting saw four dissents, most since 1992, over policy direction. * Economists expectations shift toward no rate cuts. * Financial markets price in rate hike as Fed's next move. By Dan Burns.
April's Canadian consumer price index print came in on the dovish side on Tuesday, which led investors to dial back the chance of an imminent rate hike by the Bank of Canada, said Deutsche Bank. That showed headline CPI "only" rising to 2.8% year over year in April versus 3.1% expected, noted the bank.
UK shares closed higher on Wednesday after a softer-than-expected April inflation reading tempered some interest-rate-hike bets, while a drop in crude oil prices and stabilizing government bond yields also offered some respite.
European stock markets closed higher in Wednesday trading as the Stoxx Europe advanced 1.46%, Germany's DAX climbed 1.38%, the FTSE 100 rose 0.99%, France's CAC gained 1.7%, and the Swiss Market Index closed 0.26% higher. In the UK, the annual consumer price index rose 2.8% in the 12 months to April, down from 3.3% in March.
CIBC said its current rate forecast has both the Bank of Canada and the Federal Reserve on hold for an extended period, although it has penciled in a 25bps rate cut for the Fed in December conditional on an early end to the Iran war.
Canadian headline inflation was up 0.4% in April, not seasonally adjusted, just below the 0.5% increase UBS expected, but a "chunk" below the 0.7% increase consensus expected. This left the annual rate of inflation up 2.8% over the year. in April, a 0.4 percentage point acceleration versus the 2.4% in March. the 13% in March.
National Bank of Canada initiated coverage of Lumina Metals with an outperform rating and C$20 price target, according to a Wednesday note. The bank derived the price target from a 0.70x net asset value multiple on a fully financed project NAV plus corporate adjustments at par.
The Real Vision founder said that humanity is entering an ?exponential age? where AI, crypto and tokenization could rewrite finance, labor and culture.
Headline inflation rose 0.4 percentage point to 2.8% in April, staying below the Bank of Canada's forecast of around 3% year over year, said Societe Generale after Tuesday's consumer price index. Core inflation dipped to 2.0% year over year, the lowest since 2021, noted the bank.
In general the bond market is volatile, and fixed income securities carry interest rate risk. (As interest rates rise, bond prices usually fall, and vice versa. This effect is usually more pronounced for longer-term securities.) Fixed income securities also carry inflation risk and credit and default risks for both issuers and counterparties. Unlike individual bonds, most bond funds do not have a maturity date, so avoiding losses caused by price volatility by holding them until maturity is not possible.
Lower-quality debt securities generally offer higher yields, but also involve greater risk of default or price changes due to potential changes in the credit quality of the issuer. Any fixed income security sold or redeemed prior to maturity may be subject to loss.
Before investing, consider the funds' investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses. Contact Fidelity for a prospectus or, if available, a summary prospectus containing this information. Read it carefully.
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