Saudi Arabia’s energy minister has cautioned oil speculators to “be careful” ahead of the latest OPEC+ meeting, after the group decided to cut output in early April. “I would just tell them to watch out,” Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman remarked on Tuesday, implying that those wagering against oil price hikes …
Read More »IMF no longer expects recession in the UK; ups growth forecasts
The UK will avoid a recession this year, according to the IMF, which added that the country’s economy has been “buoyed by resilient demand in the context of declining energy prices.” The Washington-based think tank now predicts UK GDP to expand 0.4% in 2023, owing to higher wage growth, more …
Read More »BoE’s Bailey says ‘big lessons’ to be learned from inflation surge
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said on Tuesday the central bank had “very big lessons to learn”, with inflation still in double digits and food prices rising at the fastest rate since the 1970s. “I think there are very big lessons about how we operate monetary policy in the …
Read More »Japan’s Nikkei index retreated from its highest level in 33 years
Japan’s Nikkei index fell sharply on Tuesday after reaching a 33-year high, with some investors rushing to sell stocks to lock in profits, after the index posted eight straight days of gains. The Nikkei index started the day’s trading strongly and reached a new peak at 31352.53 points, a level …
Read More »European stocks fell, with Julius Baer falling
European stocks fell on Tuesday, dragged down by Swiss wealth manager Julius Baer after weak results, while investors await data on business activity in the euro zone for clues about the path of interest rates. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was down 0.3% by 0715 GMT, with the travel and …
Read More »Dollar is at its highest level in 6 months against the yen
The dollar touched a six-month high against the yen on Tuesday amid the continuing debt ceiling crisis in the United States and growing expectations that interest rates there will remain higher for a longer period. The dollar rose to a six-month high of 138.80 against the yen in early Asian …
Read More »Gold is falling amid the strength of dollar
Gold prices fell on Tuesday, affected by the strength of the dollar, while investors watched the continued attempts to reach an agreement to end the debt ceiling crisis in the United States. Spot gold fell 0.4 percent to $1,962.06 an ounce by 0306 GMT. US gold futures also fell 0.6 …
Read More »Dollar steady as debt ceiling talks to resume
The dollar was generally stable on Monday, with US debt ceiling talks due to restart and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signalling his preference for a meeting-by-meeting approach to future policy decisions. To begin the week, the dollar was little changed at 137.975 yen, having ended a six-day winning streak …
Read More »Oil steady as U.S. default risk offsets demand outlook
Oil prices remained stable on Monday as concerns over the US debt ceiling weighed on optimism about demand later in the year, offsetting support from reduced supply from Canada and OPEC+ producers. Brent crude futures were up 17 cents, or 0.2%, to $75.75 a barrel by 1111 GMT, while WTI …
Read More »UK house prices hit new high in May as confidence returns
UK house prices hit a new record high in May as the housing market continued to defy pessimistic forecasts at the start of the year, figures showed. Rightmove’s house price index showed the average price of property coming to market jumped by 1.8%, £6,647, to set a new peak of …
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