SHANGHAI, Oct 17 —This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last Friday and what is expected today.
Sterling fell sharply against the U.S. dollar on Friday after British Prime Minister Liz Truss fired her finance minister and scrapped parts of their economic package that has caused havoc in UK financial markets.
The dollar, on the other hand, continued its march higher against a beleaguered yen, hitting a fresh 32-year peak of 148.86. It was last up 1% at 148.67 yen. The dollar was on track to post its best weekly performance against the Japanese unit since roughly mid-August.
Traders are once again on the lookout for any potential action from Japan’s financial authorities to stem the currency’s slide. Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki on Thursday reiterated the government’s readiness to take steps against excessive currency volatility.
Japan last month intervened to buy yen for the first time since 1998.
Stock futures edged higher in overnight trading Sunday as investors awaited big earnings reports to roll in.
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained about 50 points. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures both inched 0.3% higher.
The S&P 500 just came off its fourth negative week in five with a 1.6% loss last week. A hotter-than-expected inflation reading stoked wild price swings in the markets as investors readjusted their expectations for the Federal Reserve’s coming rate hikes.
Oil prices plummeted more than 3% on Friday as global recession fears and weak oil demand, especially in China, outweighed support from a large cut to the OPEC+ supply target.
Brent crude futures dropped $2.94, or 3.1%, to settle at $91.63 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell $3.50, or 3.9%, to $85.61.
The Brent and WTI contracts both oscillated between positive and negative territory for much of Friday but fell for the week by 6.4% and 7.6%, respectively.
Gold prices fell more than 1% on Friday and were headed for their worst week since mid-August, dragged lower by a stronger U.S. dollar and worries the Federal Reserve will persist with sharp rate hikes to curb inflation.
Spot gold had fallen 1.3% to $1,643.90 per ounce, down about 2.9% so far this week. U.S. gold futures settled 1.6% lower at $1,649.50.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 was up 0.7% by market close, off earlier highs, with utilities adding 2% to lead gains as most sectors and major bourses advanced. Oil and gas and tech just dipped into red at the end of the day.
