The central bank is tipped to leave rates unchanged for a third consecutive meeting, keeping the benchmark deposit rate at a record four percent. The bank's governing council is expected to repeat that it considers rates are currently at levels that "will make a substantial contribution" to returning inflation to...

A surge in tech titans including Apple, Amazon, Nvidia and Facebook parent Meta on Friday pushed New York's S&P 500 index to its first new all-time high since early 2022 thanks to bets on lower borrowing costs this year.

Broader markets were also enjoying a day in the sun though traders struggled to maintain the morning's momentum. Tokyo put on more than one percent thanks to the weaker yen as data showing Japanese inflation slowing eased pressure on the country's central bank to shift away from its ultra-loose monetary...

Dubai, UAE - Gold prices extended losses on Wednesday as the US dollar strengthened after comments from a Federal Reserve official dampened expectations for a March interest rate cut, Reuters reported.Spot gold was down 0.2% at $2,023.49 per ounce, as of 0415 GMT, after stooping 1.3% in the previous session...

While inflation is on a general downward path, there is a worry that it could pop back up anytime, particularly with tensions in the oil-rich Middle East showing no sign of calming.

Washington, US - Consumer inflation in the United States rose more than anticipated in December, government data showed Thursday, underscoring the bumpy road to cooling price increases as the presidential election looms.The Department of Labor's consumer price index (CPI), a key measure of inflation, was up 3.4 percent from a year...

Hong Kong, China - Asian markets stumbled out of the gates Monday, extending last week's grim start to the year, after a forecast-busting US jobs report further dampened hopes for an early interest rate cut.The keenly awaited non-farm payrolls data Friday showed the world's number one economy remains resilient despite interest...

Hong Kong, China - Asian markets fell Wednesday in line with a sell-off across most of the world as traders took their cash off the table after a blockbuster end to 2023, with eyes now on the release this week of Federal Reserve minutes and US jobs data.Equities surged in the...

Hong Kong, China - Gold prices soared to a record high above $2,100 on Monday as traders grow increasingly confident the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in the new year.The precious metal struck $2,135.39 in early Asian trade, topping the previous all-time high set in 2020, during the pandemic.Traders have...

Washington, United States - A key inflation measure used by the US Federal Reserve to set interest rates eased further last month amid declining energy and goods prices, according to government data published Thursday.The annual personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index rose 3.0 percent in October, down 0.4 percentage points from...

Stock markets were mostly in wait-and-see mode as investors eyed the release this week of key US inflation data that could guide Federal Reserve plans for interest rates. Oil prices slid nearly two percent before cutting their losses as dealers awaited a delayed meeting of OPEC and its allies to...

New York, United States - Wall Street stocks resumed their upward climb early Wednesday following strong results from artificial intelligence player Nvidia as US Treasury yields retreated.Nvidia said it made a profit of $9.2 billion on revenue of a whopping $18.1 billion in the third quarter, compared with $5.9 billion in...

Hong Kong, China - Markets rallied again Monday following another strong performance on Wall Street, as below-forecast US jobs data fanned optimism that the Federal Reserve had reached the end of its interest rate hiking cycle.After a tough year for traders, the bank's decision last week to pause on monetary policy...

The UAE's central bank has kept its Base Rate for the Overnight Deposit Facility (ODF) unchanged at 5.40 percent. It is closely tied to the US Federal Reserve's Interest on Reserve Balances (IORB), reflecting the general stance of the CBUAE's monetary policy. Qatar Central Bank too has maintained its current...

The ongoing Gaza conflict has driven gold prices over $2,000/oz, highlighting the deep connection between geopolitical tensions and global financial market reactions.

The Federal Reserve will likely announce it is holding interest rates at a 22-year high on Wednesday, as it looks to tackle inflation without damaging the resilient US economy. Analysts and traders parsing recent Fed speeches overwhelmingly expect the US central bank to hold rates steady for the second meeting...

Paris, France - Stock markets slid on Monday, extending last week's sell-off n fears of a regional conflict in the Middle East and worries that US interest rates will remain elevated for longer than initially thought.The concerns about US interest rates have also been affecting bond markets, with the yield on...

London, United Kingdom - European and US stock markets fell Thursday as investors worried over rising US Treasury yields and the Israel-Hamas crisis potentially growing into a wider conflict in the Middle East.Wall Street opened higher after falling the previous day, but slid into loss during morning trading, while Europe's main...

Washington, United States - US wholesale prices rose more than expected in September, government data showed Thursday, as energy prices continued to climb.The producer price index (PPI) rose by 0.5 percent last month, building on August's 0.7 percent increase, according to data from the Labor Department.This was above the median expectation...

"Equity markets are bouncing back on Tuesday after a risk-averse start to the week, buoyed... by some promising Fed commentary," said analyst Craig Erlam at trading firm OANDA.

The focus has been on US Treasury bond yields that have surged to levels not seen in over a decade, suggesting doubts about prospects for growth and corporate earnings. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond has reached the highest level since 2007 -- the beginning of two years...

Washington, United States - US manufacturing activity contracted in September by the least since late 2022, beating analyst expectations despite weakness in new orders, survey data showed Monday.The Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) manufacturing index came in better than anticipated at 49 percent last month, up from 47.6 percent in August.This...

With inflation still sitting well above the central bank's target and the labor market showing few signs of softening, decision-makers have warned that more tightening will be needed to achieve their goal. However, while the US economy remains in reasonable health, there is a growing concern that the Fed could...

Global stocks sank after the US Federal Reserve hinted it could hike interest rates again this year to tame inflation and other central banks warned they were not done either. London stocks bucked that trend, however, after the Bank of England held interest rates steady after 14 hikes.

Abu Dhabi, UAE -- In the wake of the US Federal Reserve's decision to maintain its interest rates, GCC countries, including the UAE and Qatar, have opted to follow suit. The US Federal Reserve, on Wednesday, voted to keep interest rates at a 22-year peak, suggesting that these rates might...

Brent North Sea crude oil traded above $95 per barrel Tuesday for the first time since November last year, supported by tight supplies and robust demand. "When central banks are starting to see the light at the end of the inflation tunnel, $100-plus oil will be incredibly unwelcome and unhelpful,"...

The Fed has raised interest rates 11 times over the last 18 months, lifting its key lending rate to a level not seen for 22 years as it tackles inflation still stubbornly above its long-term target of two percent. Goldman Sachs cut their forecast for a recession in the US...

Washington, United States - Consumer inflation in the United States picked up in August for a second straight month, according to government data released Wednesday, putting the heat on policymakers as they work to lower prices.The consumer price index (CPI), a key inflation gauge, jumped 3.7 percent from a year ago,...

The comments from three regional Fed presidents with a vote on setting interest rates will likely solidify expectations that the US central bank intends to hold rates steady later this month amid growing signs of weaker labor market conditions. The Fed has raised its benchmark lending rate 11 times over...

Wall Street's three main indexes ended a volatile August on a tepid note Thursday after data showed the Fed's preferred gauge of inflation -- the personal consumption expenditures index -- ticked a little higher in July.

The US Federal Reserve is prepared to raise interest rates higher - and hold them there - to bring down above-target inflation, chairman Jerome Powell said. "We are prepared to raise rates …. until we are confident that inflation is moving sustainably down toward our objective," he told the Jackson...

A rally in Nvidia helped propel gains in global markets earlier this week, though traders could not keep up the buying owing to ongoing rate worries.

The gains, including a jump in US tech stocks, "looked more like a correction than a reaction to fresh news, as there was no fresh news that went against the slowing China rhetoric" or indication of a possible shift in policy by US monetary policymakers, said Swissquote Bank analyst Ipek...

European stocks rebounded but Asian markets ended mixed after a Chinese rate cut failed to reassure investors. At midday, Paris stocks were up by more than one percent, with both Frankfurt and London also pushing higher. Market sentiment has taken a hammering this month by a string of weak data...

Expectations of another Fed hike have pushed 10-year Treasury yields -- a gauge of future rates -- close to their highest levels since the global financial crisis. Data on Thursday did little to dissuade investors, with unemployment benefit applications falling the most since last month, indicating the labour market remains...

In Asian stock market trading, Hong Kong extended the week's losses Friday, even as e-commerce titan Alibaba surged on a forecast-busting rise in revenue.

A highly anticipated report showed July consumer prices rose more than the previous month but less than feared, giving the US central bank room to take a lighter touch with monetary policy after more than a year of tightening.The data also showed closely watched core inflation was easing, while jobless...

Washington, United States - The US trade deficit narrowed in June on a bigger pullback in imports than exports, according to government data released on Tuesday.The overall trade gap came in at $65.5 billion in June, down from a revised $68.3 billion figure in May, Commerce Department data showed.This came as...

A US central bank official said that more interest rate hikes "will likely be needed" to bring inflation down further, shortly after policymakers lifted rates to the highest level since 2001. Federal Reserve governor Michelle Bowman said she supported the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee's decision for a rate hike...

Markets slid on Thursday as traders shifted to safer assets after Fitch downgraded the United States' credit rating from AAA to AA+. The decision sparked a strong rebuttal from Washington and confused analysts. Despite recent rallies on hopes of a "soft landing" for the US economy and in-line job data,...

New York, US - Wall Street stocks edged higher early Monday ahead of major economic reports and earnings releases later in the week, including from Apple and Amazon.After a strong first half of 2023, US equities have continued to trend higher in July behind hopes that the Federal Reserve will soon...

Washington, US - A Federal Reserve official left open the possibility on Monday of pausing or stopping interest rate hikes at the central bank's next policy meeting in September, saying "there's nothing off the table.""Thus far we're on the golden path and we've got to walk that line," Chicago Fed president...

Doha, Qatar--Qatar National Bank (QNB) Group foresees a recession in the US economy during the upcoming 12 months, pointing out that the US economy continues to demonstrate its resilience despite significant headwinds from high inflation, tighter financial conditions, and an uncertain global environment.In its weekly commentary, QNB added that since...

After a closely watched meeting, the Bank of Japan said it would allow "greater flexibility" in government bond markets, having allowed them to move in a tight band in a process known as yields curve control. But on Friday it said that while it would maintain that range, its upper...

Analysts are divided ahead of the Fed's next decision in September, with the so-called "hawks" predicting additional rate hikes in the face of strong economic data, and "doves" expecting an end to the current hiking cycle given recent inflation data.

The decision by the central banks, in the US and most of the Middle East, to hike interest rates are designed to fight off inflationary pressures and maintain economic stability.

The Fed paused its aggressive campaign of monetary tightening last month to give policymakers more time to assess the health of the US economy, and the impact of recent banking stresses on lending conditions. In the weeks since, positive upgrades to economic growth and cooler inflation data have reinforced the...

Asian equities wobbled at the end of a draining week as fresh US jobs data put revived bets on two more Federal Reserve interest rate hikes, adding to ongoing worries about China's economy. Investors have largely been on the back foot since Beijing announced a big miss on second-quarter growth.

Results of large US banks released underscored the boon from higher interest rates, as executives described the world's biggest economy as "resilient" but facing risks. JPMorgan Chase, Citi and Wells Fargo all enjoyed the benefits of being able to charge higher rates on loans, while not suffering much from elevated...

During periods of economic stability, government focus typically gravitates towards infrastructure development. Investments in sectors like construction, transportation, energy, utilities, and telecomms infrastructure, are likely to see a boost. The financial sector is also expected to be positively impacted, he adds.