Economies

Headline CPI inflation decelerated to 8.7% y/y in the first sub-10% print since August, as today’s data showed, but Core inflation rose to the highest in thirty one years

On Friday, during a panel discussion, Fed Chair Powell suggested that rates may not climb as much as expected due to credit tightening. Other Fed speakers suggest that FOMC members are developing diverging views. China data hints at a slowing momentum in recovery and EU CPI is still too high. This week sees two more inflation data points – core PCE on Friday and UK inflation on Wednesday. Wednesday will…

President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy will meet again on Monday to try to find a deal to avoid a U.S. default. Lawmakers are still far apart on an agreement to raise the federal borrowing limit, and time is running out. McCarthy said there's no agreement yet, despite a productive phone call with Biden. Biden called on Republicans to reconsider their extreme positions, as he finds their proposals…

Copper prices rose on Wednesday on hopes for a resolution to the US debt ceiling drama that helped sentiment, but it faces renewed pressure today as the situation remains uncertain and discouraging Chinese data weigh

President Biden met with key Republican and Democratic congressional leaders at the White House on Tuesday. They aimed to reach an agreement to raise the debt limit, but the discussions ended without a consensus.

Debt ceiling negotiations take center stage in Washington today. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen reiterated on Monday that June 1 is the deadline when the Department of the Treasury might face challenges in meeting its financial obligations if the debt ceiling is not raised. President Joe Biden's meeting with Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy is expected to be a crucial moment in these negotiations. While Biden expressed cautious optimism during…

Contrary to market expectations of potential interest rate cuts in response to an impending economic downturn and potential recession, central bank officials have indicated their preference for maintaining and potentially raising rates.

Last week, US headline inflation came in under 5% for the first time in two years. Core inflation was 5.5% y/y and is still looking sticky. Chinese CPI was a disappointing 0.1% y/y and Chinese factory-gate inflate declined 3.6% y/y. We also saw the BoE raise rates by 25 bps to 4.50%. This week will see a host of Fed speakers with Fed Chair Powell participating in a panel discussion…

The USDZAR has climbed over 5% for the week and is trading near R19.42, down from the its of R19.5152. US ambassador, Reuben Brigety, accused South Africa of providing weapons and ammunition to Russia. These were allegedly loaded onto a Russian ship at the Simon's Town naval base in Cape Town in December 2022. The news caused the rand to fall near its record low from 2020, and it also…

Headline CPI for April came in a t 4.9% y/y, modestly lower than the 5% y/y expected. Core inflation which strips out volatile items such as food and energy printed at 5.5% y/y which was slightly lower than the previous 5.6% y/y. The month-on-month figures for headline and core were 0.4% respectively, which equates to 4.9% annualised. This is still much higher than the Fed’s target of 2%.

President Joe Biden and congressional leaders failed to reach a deal on raising the debt ceiling during a meeting at the White House on Tuesday. The leaders agreed to meet again at the end of the week to continue negotiations. The Treasury Department and budget experts have warned that a bill must be signed by early June to avoid the U.S. defaulting on its debts, which could have catastrophic economic…