SHANGHAI, Sep 1 —This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last night and what is expected today.
The dollar eased against a basket of currencies on Wednesday, but remained near the 2-decade high hit on Monday, as traders braced for more interest rate hikes from the U.S. Federal Reserve.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six currencies, was last down 0.1% at 108.66, after earlier coming within a whisker of Monday’s two-decade peak of 109.48.
The index is on track for a rise of around 2.6% in August, its third-straight monthly gain.
A steady line of Fed officials have reiterated support for further rate hikes to quell decades-high inflation, the latest being Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester, who said on Wednesday that rates will have to rise to “somewhat above 4%” by early next year and then be held there for some time.
The comments followed a hawkish speech from Fed Chair Jerome Powell at the Jackson Hole central banking symposium in Wyoming last week that slammed the door shut on the idea that the Fed might pivot and begin lowering rates by mid-2023.
U.S. stock futures fell slightly on Wednesday night after the major averages closed out August with losses and investors considered the Federal Reserve’s fight against inflation.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell by 42 points, or 0.13%. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures declined 0.27% and 0.48%, respectively.
Those moves follow four straight days of losses in the major averages. On the final day of August, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid nearly 0.9%. The S&P 500 lost about 0.8%, and the Nasdaq Composite fell roughly 0.6%.
The Dow closed the month down about 4.1%, while the S&P and Nasdaq recorded losses of 4.2% and 4.6%, respectively.
Investors are debating whether stocks will again challenge the June lows in September, a historically poor month for markets, after weighing recent hawkish comments from Fed officials who show no signs of easing up on interest rate hikes.
Oil prices continued to slide on Wednesday on investor worries about the ailing state of the global economy, the prospect of central bank interest rate hikes, and increased restrictions to curb Covid-19 in China.
Brent crude futures for October, due to expire on Wednesday, were down $2.69, or 2.7%, at $96.62 a barrel following Tuesday’s $5.78 loss. The more active November contract was down $2.70, or 2.76%, at $95.14 a barrel.
Gold slipped on Wednesday and posted its longest run of monthly losses since 2018, pressured by aggressive rate hikes by major central banks across the world.
Spot gold fell 0.6% to $1,712.56 an ounce by 0203 p.m. ET. Bullion has lost about 3% in August for its fifth straight month of declines.
U.S. gold futures settled 0.6% lower at $1,726.2.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 provisionally closed down by 1%. Oil and gas stocks fell 2.7% to lead losses as most sectors and major bourses dipped into negative territory.
