Latest news with #US-EU
New Straits Times
37 minutes ago
- Business
- New Straits Times
Euro hovers near one-month lows after trade deal, focus switches to Fed
SINGAPORE: The euro steadied near its lowest in a month on Wednesday, nursing steep losses this week as investors counted the cost of the US-EU trade pact and looked ahead to policy meetings from the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan. US and Chinese officials agreed to seek an extension of their 90-day tariff truce on Tuesday, following two days of what both sides described as constructive talks in Stockholm. No major breakthroughs were announced, and US officials said it was up to President Donald Trump to decide whether to extend a truce that expires on August 12. The Sino-US talks come after a framework deal between the US and EU was announced on Sunday. The accord has evoked a mix of relief and concern from Europe, as the agreement was lopsided and skewed towards the United States. "Markets seem to be increasingly interpreting trade agreements as symbolic and tactical rather than structural resolution," said Charu Chanana, chief investment strategist at Saxo in Singapore. "With terms often vague and enforcement mechanisms weak, investors are assigning lower market beta to these negotiations unless backed by concrete detail." The euro was 0.12 per cent higher at US$1.1558 in early trading after dropping for the first two days of the week and hitting a one-month low of US$1.15185 on Tuesday. The euro is up 11.7 per cent since the start of the year but on course for its first monthly drop this year. The single currency has benefited this year from the dollar losing its lustre due to Trump's erratic trade policies, prompting investors to look for alternatives. Sterling was at US$1.3358 and the Australian dollar last bought US$0.6517. The offshore yuan was little changed at 7.178 per US dollar. The Japanese yen firmed a bit to 148.20 per dollar. That left the dollar index, which measures the US currency against six others, at 98.815, hovering near a one-month high. The index is set to record its first month of gains this year. Investor focus will now switch to central bank meetings, with the Fed due to announce its policy decision later on Wednesday. The Fed is widely expected to stand pat, making comments from Chair Jerome Powell crucial to gauge the policy path. The policy decision comes in the wake of Trump's constant demands for rate cuts, which have coincided with an unrelenting campaign of attacks on Powell by the president and administration officials. There is speculation that Governor Christopher Waller and Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman could issue dissents if the Fed on Wednesday holds the policy rate steady for the fifth time since December. "While dissenting isn't uncommon, the dissents at this week's meeting may get more focus because Trump has made it crystal clear that he thinks the FOMC should be lowering interest rates," said Kristina Clifton, a senior economist at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney. "Dissents at this meeting may be judged as political and put a dent in perceptions of the FOMC's independence." The BOJ is also expected to stand pat and the spotlight will be on comments from Governor Kazuo Ueda as investors hope the recent trade deal between Japan and the US paves the way for the central bank to raise interest rates again this year.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
Asian shares mixed at open before Fed's meeting
With the Fed's benchmark rate holding at a target range of 4.25% to 4.5% since December, the business world is looking for any clue that officials are moving toward a rate reduction in the fall. Asian equities displayed mixed performance ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy decision, with limited impact from US-China trade talks. The US and China are continuing negotiations regarding a tariff truce, while Trump hinted at potential tariffs on India. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Asian equities struggled for direction ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy decision, while a modest progress in US-China trade talks did little to boost in Japan fluctuated at the open while those in South Korea and Australia were flat Wednesday after the S&P 500 snapped a six-day rally. Treasuries were steady in early Asian trading after jumping the most in a month in the prior session. Oil held its biggest gain in six weeks after President Donald Trump's reiteration that further levies on Russia remained on the table without a Ukraine and China will continue talks over maintaining a tariff truce before it expires in two weeks and Trump will make the final call on any extension. Adding an extra 90 days is one option, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent like the muted response to the US-EU tariff deal, the latest signs of progress with Beijing did little to shift investor mood. There are also other market-moving factors on the horizon. Those include Wednesday's Fed decision — where policy makers are expected to keep rates on hold — and key data including Friday's jobs report. Four tech giants will also report earnings over a two-day stretch.'The market is getting better at pricing this behavior - that is, extension, as long as you say it's positive development,' said Billy Leung, investment strategist at Global X ETFs. 'Previously, this lack of development could have caused much larger negative reaction.'The Stockholm negotiations marked the third round of US-China trade talks in less than three months. They wrapped up ahead of an Aug. 12 deadline to resolve differences during a 90-day suspension of tariffs that had threatened to cut off bilateral trade between the world's largest news emerged that China's delegation had indicated a 90-day extension of the two economies' trade-war truce was agreed, Bessent said, his Chinese counterparts have 'jumped the gun a little.''While there is disappointment that nothing material was agreed, the mood seems to be constructive and optimistic about future potential deals,' said Kelvin Lam, senior China economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics in London. 'In the medium term, the extension is basically relaying the uncertainty of trade policies, and it will weigh on the Chinese economy in the second half.'Meanwhile, Trump said that India may be hit with a tariff rate of 20% to 25% but cautioned the final levy had still not been finalized as the two countries negotiate on a trade deal ahead of an Aug. 1 the economic front, US consumer confidence increased as concerns eased about the outlook for the broader economy and the labor market. While job openings fell, they hovered at a level that indicates generally stable demand for workers.'Overall, it was a mixed round of data that has done little to materially challenge the price action or macro narrative,' said Ian Lyngen at BMO Capital a rare occurrence, policymakers will convene in the same week that the government issues reports on gross domestic product, employment and the Fed's preferred price anticipate the heavy dose of data will show economic activity rebounded in the second quarter, largely due to a sharp narrowing of the trade deficit, while job growth moderated in July. The third marquee report may show underlying inflation picked up slightly in June from a month the Fed's benchmark rate holding at a target range of 4.25% to 4.5% since December, the business world is looking for any clue that officials are moving toward a rate reduction in the Chair Jerome Powell could face dissent from one or more colleagues arguing it's time for the central bank to provide more support to a slowing labor market.'We believe the Fed wants to maintain flexibility on when to deploy further rate cuts. In our view, the Fed will remain on hold until 'hard data' begins to confirm the slowdown story,' said Luis Alvarado at Wells Fargo Investment Institute. 'The Fed will have the opportunity to cut rates later in the year if the economy slows and as long as inflation allows.'
Economic Times
2 hours ago
- Business
- Economic Times
Asian shares mixed at open before Fed's meeting
With the Fed's benchmark rate holding at a target range of 4.25% to 4.5% since December, the business world is looking for any clue that officials are moving toward a rate reduction in the fall. Asian equities displayed mixed performance ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy decision, with limited impact from US-China trade talks. The US and China are continuing negotiations regarding a tariff truce, while Trump hinted at potential tariffs on India. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Asian equities struggled for direction ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy decision, while a modest progress in US-China trade talks did little to boost in Japan fluctuated at the open while those in South Korea and Australia were flat Wednesday after the S&P 500 snapped a six-day rally. Treasuries were steady in early Asian trading after jumping the most in a month in the prior session. Oil held its biggest gain in six weeks after President Donald Trump's reiteration that further levies on Russia remained on the table without a Ukraine and China will continue talks over maintaining a tariff truce before it expires in two weeks and Trump will make the final call on any extension. Adding an extra 90 days is one option, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent like the muted response to the US-EU tariff deal, the latest signs of progress with Beijing did little to shift investor mood. There are also other market-moving factors on the horizon. Those include Wednesday's Fed decision — where policy makers are expected to keep rates on hold — and key data including Friday's jobs report. Four tech giants will also report earnings over a two-day stretch.'The market is getting better at pricing this behavior - that is, extension, as long as you say it's positive development,' said Billy Leung, investment strategist at Global X ETFs. 'Previously, this lack of development could have caused much larger negative reaction.'The Stockholm negotiations marked the third round of US-China trade talks in less than three months. They wrapped up ahead of an Aug. 12 deadline to resolve differences during a 90-day suspension of tariffs that had threatened to cut off bilateral trade between the world's largest news emerged that China's delegation had indicated a 90-day extension of the two economies' trade-war truce was agreed, Bessent said, his Chinese counterparts have 'jumped the gun a little.''While there is disappointment that nothing material was agreed, the mood seems to be constructive and optimistic about future potential deals,' said Kelvin Lam, senior China economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics in London. 'In the medium term, the extension is basically relaying the uncertainty of trade policies, and it will weigh on the Chinese economy in the second half.'Meanwhile, Trump said that India may be hit with a tariff rate of 20% to 25% but cautioned the final levy had still not been finalized as the two countries negotiate on a trade deal ahead of an Aug. 1 the economic front, US consumer confidence increased as concerns eased about the outlook for the broader economy and the labor market. While job openings fell, they hovered at a level that indicates generally stable demand for workers.'Overall, it was a mixed round of data that has done little to materially challenge the price action or macro narrative,' said Ian Lyngen at BMO Capital a rare occurrence, policymakers will convene in the same week that the government issues reports on gross domestic product, employment and the Fed's preferred price anticipate the heavy dose of data will show economic activity rebounded in the second quarter, largely due to a sharp narrowing of the trade deficit, while job growth moderated in July. The third marquee report may show underlying inflation picked up slightly in June from a month the Fed's benchmark rate holding at a target range of 4.25% to 4.5% since December, the business world is looking for any clue that officials are moving toward a rate reduction in the Chair Jerome Powell could face dissent from one or more colleagues arguing it's time for the central bank to provide more support to a slowing labor market.'We believe the Fed wants to maintain flexibility on when to deploy further rate cuts. In our view, the Fed will remain on hold until 'hard data' begins to confirm the slowdown story,' said Luis Alvarado at Wells Fargo Investment Institute. 'The Fed will have the opportunity to cut rates later in the year if the economy slows and as long as inflation allows.'
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump deciding trade deals by August 1: Lutnick
US President Donald Trump will make his trade deal decisions this week even as separate negotiations with China and the European Union continue, US Commerce chief Howard Lutnick says ahead of Trump's self-imposed August 1 deadline. US and EU officials were still discussing steel and aluminium tariffs as well as digital services regulations following their framework announced on Sunday, Lutnick told CNBC in an interview, adding that talks with China were also "their own thing". "But for the rest of the world, we're going to have things done by Friday," he said in the interview. Asked about remaining uncertainties surrounding the US-EU agreement, Lutnick said Trump was working "to get things done now". .@POTUS: "We just signed a very big deal, as you know, with the European Union, but also with the United Kingdom ... A great deal for the country." — Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 29, 2025 He said pharmaceuticals were a key part of the EU deal so that medicines made in EU member countries - home to several major drug makers - would have their products included in the 15 per cent tariff. "It was important for them to have pharmaceuticals be part of the deal at 15 per cent because President Trump is going to come out in the next two weeks with his pharmaceutical policy, and it is going to be higher," he said. South Africa's trade ministry said on Tuesday that it still wanted to negotiate a trade deal with the United States, before a 30 per cent tariff on its exports to the US is due to kick in on Friday. South Africa's government has been tight-lipped about its negotiations with the US administration ahead of the August 1 deadline, which comes as the two countries' relationship has deteriorated over South Africa's domestic race policy and its genocide case against Israel, which Israel denies. In a statement, the trade ministry said it was still waiting for "substantive feedback from our US counterparts on the final status on our framework deal". .@SecScottBessent and @USTradeRep give an update from Stockholm following the latest round of trade talks with China: "We had great momentum going into the meeting thanks to the President's trade deals. I think that the Chinese were surprised by the magnitude." — Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 29, 2025 Trump said on Tuesday he had spoken with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent who told him that he had a very good meeting with Chinese officials in Sweden. "He felt very good about the meeting, better than he felt yesterday," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on his way back to Washington DC after five days in Scotland. US and Chinese officials agreed to seek an extension of their 90-day tariff truce following two days of talks in Stockholm aimed at defusing an escalating trade war between the world's two biggest economies. No major breakthroughs were announced and US officials said it was up to Trump to decide whether to extend a trade truce that expires on August 12 or potentially let tariffs shoot back up to triple-digit figures. Asked about a possible trade deal with India, another major trading partner, Trump said no deal had been finalised and noted that India had higher tariffs than nearly all other countries.
The Australian
8 hours ago
- Business
- The Australian
ASX cautious ahead of inflation data to be released on Wednesday
Cautious traders lifted the ASX from an early fall on Tuesday but are still waiting for Wednesday's key CPI figure and US tariff fallout. The benchmark ASX200 eked out a small 6.9 or 0.08 per cent gain to 8,704.6 after falling by as much as 0.6 per cent on the open. The broader All Ordinaries also finished in the green up 3.20 points or 0.04 per cent to 8,966.70. Australia's dollar firmed marginally up 0.06 per cent to buy 65.25 US cents. Markets pared back early losses during Tuesday's trading. Picture NewsWire/ Gaye Gerard. On an overall quiet day of trading, seven of the 11 sectors finished in the green, led by energy, industrials and healthcare stocks. Woodside Energy gained 1.57 per cent to $26.60 and Santos jumped 2.06 per cent to $7.91 on the back of rising oil prices. Healthcare giant CSL gained 0.52 per cent to $272, Pro Medicus gained 0.86 per cent to $323.21 and Fisher Paykel Healthcare jumped 1.44 per cent to $33.78. It was a mixed day for the market heavyweight big four banks. Commonwealth Bank shares slipped 0.35 per cent to $174.29 while Westpac fell 0.06 per cent to $33.19. Offsetting the falls were gains from National Australia Bank which closed 1.17 per cent higher to $38.20 and ANZ which eked out a 0.03 per cent gain to $30.32. The initial excitement in the markets on the back of a US-EU trade deal over the weekend quickly died down as the White House announced a possible bounce in the tariff rate. Under the new plan the 'Rest of World', including Australia, could now face tariffs of 15 to 20 per cent, up from the 10 per cent initial base rate. senior financial market analyst Kyle Rodda said market excitement on the back of trade talks between the US and the EU was short lived. 'Wall Street failed to hold onto the post US-EU trade deal buzz but that's only because of the mountain of event risk that the markets confront in the coming days,' he said. 'The August 1 trade deadline loomed as potentially the biggest story of the week'. Seven of the 11 sectors finished higher on a quiet day of trading. Picture: NewsWire / Max Mason-Hubers But Mr Rodda pointed out that with deals worked out between the US and the EU, Japan and potentially China means markets attention will shift to macroeconomic figures and corporate earnings. Australia's key macroeconomic data comes out on Wednesday with the release of the quarterly CPI figures. Economists say a quarterly trimmed mean inflation rate between 2.6 and 2.7 per cent over the year, would fall in the RBA's target band of 2 to 3 per cent and open the door for further interest rate relief. In company news, shares in jeweller Michael Hill jumped 2.47 per cent to $0.42 on the bell after the business announced founder Sir Michael Hill died at age 86 earlier on Tuesday. 'To every endeavour he pursued, Michael brought a deep sense of purpose, an enduring curiosity, open-mindedness and creativity that challenged all of us to embrace ever more lofty goals and be unconstrained in our thinking – a legacy that will continue to inspire us,' Michael Hill chairman Rob Fyfe said in a statement to the ASX. Boss Energy continued its slump following the announcement of its result on Monday, dropping another 5.51 per cent to $1.80. The stock fell more than 40 per cent after warning the market it is unlikely to meet its production targets at its Honeymoon project in South Australia on the back of costs and concerns about the uranium quality. Shares in wagering company Tabcorp finished 1.31 per cent higher to $0.78 after Aware Super told the market it exited its stake on July 24 on the back of strong gains made earlier this year. Read related topics: ASX
