SHANGHAI, Oct 13 —This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last night and what is expected today.
The dollar climbed to a fresh 24-year peak versus the yen on Wednesday, holding above levels that prompted intervention by Japanese officials last month, while sterling rose after a sharp fall in the previous session as investors pondered the Bank of England’s next steps.
The greenback pared gains after minutes from the last Federal Reserve meeting showed some dovish undertones. Several participants noted the importance of calibrating the pace of further tightening to mitigate the risk on the U.S. economy, the minutes said. The Fed though remained committed to raising interest rates in order to bring down inflation.
Data showing U.S. producer prices increased more than expected in September, further boosted the dollar against the yen. The producer price index for final demand rebounded 0.4%, above the forecast for a 0.2% rise. In the 12 months through September, the PPI increased 8.5% after advancing 8.7% in August.
In the wake of the U.S. PPI data, the greenback rose as high as 146.98 yen, its strongest since August 1998. It was last up 0.73% at 146.92, marking a fifth straight session of gains.
Stock futures are rising slightly Wednesday as investors look ahead to inflation data and earnings in the coming days that may provide insight into the future health of the economy.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 48 points, or 0.16%. Nasdaq 100 futures added 0.15%, while futures tied to the S&P 500 increased 0.18%.
The action follows a day of small ups and downs for the market as investors digested minutes from the September Federal Reserve meeting. The minutes showed the central bank expected to keep hiking interest rates until it sees receding inflation. But one comment made some think the Fed might instead slow the rate hikes, if not roll them back, if financial markets tumult continued.
The S&P 500 fell 0.33% to close at 3,577.03. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.09% to 10,417.10. The Dow Jones slipped 0.10%, or 28.34 points, to close at 29,210.85.
Oil futures fell for a third day on Wednesday, as a stronger dollar and worries about weaker demand and rising interest rates outweighed supply concerns that followed last week’s OPEC+ cut to its production target.
Both OPEC and the U.S. Energy Department slashed their demand outlooks. Last week, together with allies including Russia, OPEC sent prices rising when it agreed to cut supply by 2 million barrels per day (bpd).
Brent crude futures last lost $2.02 or 2.14% to $92.27 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude lost $2.38, or 2.66%, at $876.97.
Gold prices firmed on Wednesday, drawing support from a drop in the dollar and U.S. Treasury yields in the wake of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s last policy meeting.
Spot gold last rose 0.4% to $1,672.05 per ounce. U.S. gold futures dropped 0.36% to $1,608.00.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 ended down 0.1%, having bounced either side of the flatline throughout the session. Retail dropped 1.9% to lead losses, while banks were down 1%.
