GLOBAL FX-
A confidence shock driven partly by the U.S. trade war is at the centre of an increasingly persuasive argument for Federal Reserve policymakers seriously considering cutting rates for the first time in a decade Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Wednesday set the stage for the rate cut this month, as records from policymakers’ latest meeting showed increasing fear that a U.S.-China trade war that has done little to directly restrain growth is indirectly causing businesses to hold back on buying equipment, giving workers a raise and hiking their prices.
India and U.S. trade negotiators will meet on Friday, with few signs of a compromise on a series of protectionist measures taken by the two governments in recent months that have strained ties between the strategic partners.U.S. President Donald Trump has been putting pressure on India to do more to open its markets, saying this week again on Twitter its high tariffs were “unacceptable” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, re-elected in May, has been pushing nationalist policies with higher tariffs on everything from electronic goods to tighter controls on foreign firms in the fast growing e-commerce market to help foster domestic companies and create jobs for millions of youth.
Senior U.S. diplomat David Hale met with Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, in Helsinki on Wednesday to discuss U.S.-Russian relations, the State Department said, amid tensions between the two countries over a range of issues The meeting between Hale, who is undersecretary for political affairs, and Ryabkov followed June 28 talks between President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan.
South Korea’s foreign minister told U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that Japan’s export curbs against Seoul are “undesirable”, the Foreign Ministry said on Thursday, as a trade row between the East Asian neighbours grows South Korea’s ruling party also announced on Thursday that up to about 300 billion won ($254.8 million) would be included in a supplementary budget bill to cope with Japan’s export curbs by speeding localisation of materials supplies for chips and display panels.
South Korea’s ruling party said on Thursday it would include up to 300 billion won ($254.8 million) in an extra budget to cope with Japan’s recent export limits on high-tech materials The Democratic Party said in a statement the budget would be intended to support South Korea’s own technology development and commercialisation of items of which the country has relied on imports from Japan.
European Union member states should brace for U.S. tariffs on several fronts in the months ahead, a senior German official warned late on Tuesday, just hours before Washington launched a probe of a planned French digital tax that could trigger future tariffs Peter Beyer, Germany’s transatlantic coordinator and member of parliament, said while there was continued U.S. interest in dialogue with Europe, the Trump administration nonetheless appeared poised to impose tariffs over disputes about aircraft subsidies, the Nordstream 2 gas pipeline and European car imports.
Gold prices scaled a more than one-week peak on Thursday, as the dollar slipped after dovish remarks from the U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell boosted the case for an interest rate cut later this month Spot gold was up 0.4% at $1,424.21 per ounce as of 0337 GMT, after earlier hitting its highest since July 3 at $1,426 U.S. gold futures jumped 1% to $1,424.36.
Oil futures hit a six-week high on Thursday as a storm built in the Gulf of Mexico, threatening crude output, while an incident with a British tanker in the Middle East highlighted ongoing tensions in the region U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 34 cents, or 0.6%, at $60.77 a barrel by 0337 GMT, after earlier touching the highest since May 23 at $60.83. They gained 4.5% in the previous session.