Argentina's monthly inflation drops to 2.7%, the lowest level in 3 years
  • November 13, 2024

Argentina's monthly inflation drops to 2.7%, the lowest level in 3 years

Argentina's inflation slowed to 2.7% in October, the lowest level in three years in a win for the libertarian government of President Javier Milei who came to power almost a year ago promising to pull Argentina out of a dire economic crisis. Argentina's statistics agency on Tuesday reported October's number. In September, inflation was 3.5%.

Dollar holds firm ahead of US inflation, bitcoin targets fresh highs
  • November 13, 2024

Dollar holds firm ahead of US inflation, bitcoin targets fresh highs

The U.S. dollar held near a 6-1/2-month peak against major peers and bitcoin was solidly poised just below record highs on Wednesday as markets sized up so-called Trump trades ahead of key U.S. inflation data later in the day. The dollar is reaping the benefits of Republican Donald Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential election last week, with investors pricing in policies of lower taxes and trade tariffs under the incoming administration that are seen as inflationary. The Trump trade has pushed up U.S. Treasury yields as markets wager the Federal Reserve may temper the extent of its future rate cuts [US/].

NY Fed's Perli still sees ample money market liquidity
  • November 12, 2024

NY Fed's Perli still sees ample money market liquidity

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Even with some recent bouts of volatility, it appears money market liquidity levels remain robust, a top New York Federal Reserve official said on Tuesday, suggesting the case for the Fed to press on with its balance sheet drawdown can proceed. While the volatility that struck markets at the end of September is something that argues for central bankers to keep a close eye on markets, even with the churn, “I want to make clear that there is considerable evidence that reserve supply remains abundant - quarter-end pressures do not appear to be induced by a scarcity of reserves," said Roberto Perli, who manages the implementation of monetary policy at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, in the text of a speech. “Although we are monitoring events closely, there are few obvious and foreseeable risks to our continuing to implement monetary policy efficiently and effectively” at the command of the rate setting Federal Open Market Committee, he said.

US monetary policy still restrictive, two Fed officials say
  • November 12, 2024

US monetary policy still restrictive, two Fed officials say

(Reuters) -The Federal Reserve's policy rate continues to act as a brake on the resilient labor market and on inflation that is still above the 2% target, two U.S. central bankers said on Tuesday, a view that appears to argue for more interest rate cuts, even as both signaled they were not ready to judge how fast or by how much. "In my judgment we are still in a modestly contractionary stance, but ultimately the economy will guide us, in terms of how far we are needing to go" in cutting the Fed's benchmark for short-term borrowing costs, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said at a Yahoo Finance event. Speaking earlier, Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin called the current level of rates "somewhat less restrictive" than it had been, and said he could see scenarios where demand rises and the central bank needs to focus on containing inflation, and others where businesses start laying off workers and it needs to turn more to protecting the job market.