Analysis: Currencies

Final slate of Fed speakers due before pre-meeting blackout begins

U.S. Federal Reserve officials head into the quiet period ahead of their Dec. 17-18 meeting with new jobs numbers expected to show a rebound from the weak reading in October and a growing sense among...

BOJ is holding cards close to its chest on December rate hike

The Bank of Japan is staying guarded on the timing of the next rate hike with December hardly a done deal given soft consumption, its governor's cautious decision-making style and anxiety over U.S....

India rate call in focus, political crises cool

A look at the day ahead in Asian markets.  India's central bank interest rate decision grabs the spotlight in Asia on Friday, as investors digest yet another record high for the Nasdaq...

Canada Christmas stimulus, immigration curbs cast more doubt on fiscal targets

Canada's fiscal targets over the next few years will be tougher to achieve as a promised Christmas handout last month by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau amplifies the impact of falling growth from...

Canada's services PMI rises to 19-month high in November

Canada's services economy expanded for a second straight month in November as firms added staff, but incoming new work was subdued and the threat of U.S. tariffs could yet hurt sentiment, S&P Global's...

Bond vigilantes spare France for now, but political crisis will bring more pain

Bond investors are likely to spare France the dire financial storm Prime Minister Michel Barnier has warned of, but the fallout from the political crisis will hurt businesses, consumers and...

Currencies: Thank you France!

Between small talk and great tragedy, France continues to be the talk of the town. Since the surprise dissolution of the French National Assembly last June, there has been a steady stream of setbacks...

US job openings rise in October, layoffs decrease

U.S. job openings increased moderately in October while layoffs declined, suggesting the labor market continued to slow in an orderly fashion. Job openings, a measure of labor demand,...

Trump tariffs could weigh on European growth and inflation, ECB's Cipollone says

Import tariffs expected to be implemented by the administration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump could lower economic growth and inflation in the 20 nations sharing the euro, European Central Bank...

Fed's Waller says inclined at this point to cut rates in December

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said on Monday he was inclined to cut the benchmark interest rate at the Dec. 17-18 meeting as monetary policy remained restrictive enough to keep putting...

Exclusive-Russia's VTB expects rouble to stabilise around 100/dollar, CEO says

The Russian rouble will stabilise at around 100 to the U.S. dollar after the period of volatility in the aftermath of U.S. sanctions on Russia's financial sector, CEO of Russia's second largest lender...

Exclusive-Russia's VTB does not expect Western sanctions to be lifted soon

Western sanctions imposed on Russia over its military action in Ukraine will not be lifted anytime soon, the CEO of Russia's second largest lender VTB Andrei Kostin told Reuters in an interview. ...

Dollar faces crunch week for US rates, yen holds gains

The dollar started in a cautious mood on Monday in what is shaping up to be a critical week for the prospect of U.S. rate cuts, while the yen's recent rebound was underpinned by wagers on rising rates...

Jobs data set to pave way for rates path, stocks

The coming week will give investors a fresh view into the health of the U.S. economy with the release of a closely watched employment report that could help determine the trajectory of interest rates...

Asian shares slip, yen aims for best week in 4 months on BOJ hike bets

Asian shares slipped on Friday while the yen was aiming for its best week in four months as strong local inflation data had traders favouring an imminent rate hike from the Bank of Japan. ...

US pending home sales rise for third straight month, NAR says

Contracts to buy U.S. previously owned homes rose unexpectedly in October, notching a third straight month of increases, despite high mortgage rates and as inventory of properties for sale continued...

U.S. housing affordability to worsen even as price rises slow

Purchasing affordability for first-time U.S. homebuyers will worsen over the coming year on tight supply and just a few more Federal Reserve interest rate cuts, even as average home price rises slow,...

Some Fed policymakers open to lowering the overnight repo rate

Some Federal Reserve policymakers believe it may soon be time to lower the rate on funds that banks and money market funds park at the Fed, minutes from the Fed's most recent meeting indicated, so...

Bank of Canada says inflation will fade into background as it settles at 2%

The Bank of Canada on Tuesday said inflation, which has been the center of attention and unhappiness for years amid rising prices, should fade into the background again as the annual rate settled back...