Traders Bet on Deeper BOE Cuts, Brushing Aside Inflation Fears
The bets were initiated on Thursday by purchasing option strategies tied to the Sterling Overnight Index Average rate — a proxy for policy rates. They'll pay out out almost £20 million ($26.8 million) on initial outlays of around £1.5 million if the benchmark rate falls to 3.5% this year — a quarter point more than money markets are currently implying.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Yahoo
LSEG reports 7.8% rise in first-half profit, announces buyback
(Reuters) -The London Stock Exchange Group on Thursday announced a share buyback program of 1 billion pounds ($1.33 billion) for the second half after reporting a better-than-expected rise in first-half profit, driven by strong performance across its businesses. The company said total income, excluding recoveries, in the first half was 4.49 billion pounds, up 7.8% on an organic constant currency basis. Analysts were expecting a 7.5% increase on average, according to a company-compiled poll. Reuters provides news for LSEG's news and data terminal Workspace. ($1 = 0.7541 pounds)
Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Global gold demand up 3% in second quarter as investment jumps, WGC says
LONDON (Reuters) -Global gold demand including over-the-counter (OTC) trading rose by 3% year-on-year to 1,248.8 metric tons in the second quarter of 2025 as investment jumped 78%, the World Gold Council said on Thursday. Spot gold prices are up 26% so far this year after hitting a record $3,500 per troy ounce in April as uncertain global trade policy and geopolitical turbulence fuelled inflows into safe-haven assets. Invest in Gold Priority Gold: Up to $15k in Free Silver + Zero Account Fees on Qualifying Purchase American Hartford Gold: #1 Precious Metals Dealer in the Nation Thor Metals Group: Best Overall Gold IRA Demand for gold bars rose 21% in the second quarter, offsetting a continuing slump in demand for coins, said the WGC, an industry body whose members are global gold miners. Physically backed gold exchange-traded funds recorded their largest semi-annual inflow since the first half of 2020 from January to June, the WGC said earlier in July. Global gold jewellery consumption, the main category of physical demand, fell 14% to 341.0 tons, the lowest level since the pandemic-swept third quarter of 2020, as the high prices deterred buyers. "Much of the decline came from China and India, whose combined market share fell below 50% for only the third time in the last five years," the WGC said. Central banks, another major source of gold demand, reduced purchases by 21% to 166.5 tons in the second quarter, the WGC calculated, based on reported purchases and an estimate of unreported buying. On the supply front, recycling added 4% to 347.2 tons in the second quarter, but remained relatively subdued despite record prices, as Indian consumers opted to exchange old jewellery for new, or to pledge it as collateral against loans. The WGC downgraded its estimate of this year's gold purchases by central banks, adding that the longer-term trend of central banks reallocating from the U.S. assets to gold remains intact. Gold ETFs have further upside potential in the second half of this year with retail investment due to soften modestly, the WGC added. Gold supply and demand by WGC*: Q2'24 Q1'25 Q2'25 Q2'25 change y/y % TOTAL SUPPLY 1,210.0 1,174.5 1,248.8 3 Mine production 896.2 833.0 908.6 1 Net producer hedging -20.4 -7.1 -7.1 Total mine supply 875.8 825.9 901.5 3 Recycled gold 334.2 348.5 347.2 4 TOTAL DEMAND 1,210.0 1,174.5 1,248.8 3 Jewellery fabrication: 417.2 425.4 356.7 -14 - Jewellery consumption 395.6 383.4 341.0 -14 - Jewellery inventory 21.6 42.0 15.7 -27 Technology: 80.2 80.4 78.6 -2 - Electronics 66.8 67.0 65.8 -2 - Other industrial 11.1 11.3 10.8 -3 - Dentistry 2.3 2.1 2.1 -9 Investment: 268.1 551.2 477.2 78 - Total bar and coin: 275.2 324.6 306.8 11 of which bars 200.2 257.7 243.1 21 of which official coins 49.6 44.3 38.9 -22 of which medals 25.4 22.7 24.8 -3 - ETFs/similar products -7.1 226.6 170.5 Central banks/institutions 211.5 248.6 166.5 -21 Gold demand 977.0 1,305.6 1,079.0 10 OTC and other 233.0 -131.2 169.8 -27 LBMA gold price ($/oz) 2,338.2 2,859.6 3,280.4 40 *Source: Metals Focus, ICE Benchmark Administration, World Gold Council. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Shell beats profit expectations at $4.3 billion, keeps buybacks steady
LONDON (Reuters) - Shell's adjusted earnings, its definition of net profit, reached $4.264 billion in the second quarter, it said on Thursday, above the $3.74 billion average in an analyst poll provided by the company but down from $6.3 billion a year ago. Shell said it would maintain the pace of its share buyback programme at $3.5 billion over the next three months, the 15th consecutive quarter of at least $3 billion. Shell had guided in a trading update earlier this month that it expected quarterly earnings to be hit by weaker trading in its integrated gas division and losses at its chemicals and products operations. Global benchmark Brent crude prices averaged around $67 a barrel during the April-June quarter, compared with $75 a barrel in the first quarter and $85 a year earlier. Sign in to access your portfolio
