Aussie falls and shrugs off strong employment data
The Australian dollar fell against most major rivals on Thursday despite strong labor data.
Australia's unemployment rate was unchanged in April at 4.1%, same as March, and matching expectations.
The Australian economy added 89.0 thousand new jobs in April, easily beating estimates of a 20.9 thousand addition, while March's reading was revised to show the addition of 32.2 thousand jobs instead of 36.4 thousand.
The data renewed inflationary pressures on the Reserve Bank of Australia’s policymakers, which hurt the odds of a rate cut in May.
On trading, the AUD/USD pair fell 0.4% as of 19:06 GMT to $0.6403.
Sterling
The GBP/USD price rose 0.2% as of 19:06 GMT to $1.3293.
Earlier government data showed the UK GDP growth rate at 0.2% in the first quarter, beating expectations of no changes.
The US Dollar
The US dollar index fell 0.1% as of 18:59 GMT to 100.9, with a session-high at 101.06, and a low at 100.5.
Earlier data showed US producer prices rose 2.4% y/y in April, below estimates of a 2.5% rise, and down from 2.7% in the previous reading.
US retail sales rose 0.1% in April, beating expectations of no change, but below March’s 1.4% increase.
US unemployment claims were unchanged at 229 thousand in the week ending May 10, same as the previous reading, and matching expectations.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned today from the increasing chances of supply shocks and subsequent higher prices in upcoming years, adding the Fed will amend its framework to account for fundamental changes in inflation and interest rate forecasts.
Wall Street falls after labor and inflation data
US stock indices fell on Thursday after important data, while investors collect recent profits.
Earlier data showed US producer prices rose 2.4% y/y in April, below estimates of a 2.5% rise, and down from 2.7% in the previous reading.
US retail sales rose 0.1% in April, beating expectations of no change, but below March’s 1.4% increase.
US unemployment claims were unchanged at 229 thousand in the week ending May 10, same as the previous reading, and matching expectations.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned today from the increasing chances of supply shocks and subsequent higher prices in upcoming years, adding the Fed will amend its framework to account for fundamental changes in inflation and interest rate forecasts.
On trading, Dow Jones fell 0.1% as of 17:07 GMT, or 15 points to 42037 points, while S&P 500 shed 0.1%, or 5 points to 5887 points, as NASDAQ dropped 0.5% to 19,054 points.
Oil prices lose nearly 4% on US-Iran nuclear deal prospects
Global oil prices tumbled 4% on Thursday on track for the second loss in a row away from three-week highs on profit-taking, amid oversupply concerns as the US-Iran nuclear deal progresses.
Prices are also pressured by a sudden surge in US crude stocks last week according to official EIA data in a sign of strong fuel demand.
Prices
US crude futures fell 4.3% to $60.11 a barrel, with a session-high at $62.88.
Brent shed 3.5% to $63.47 a barrel, with a session-high at $65.74.
On Wednesday, US crude lost 1.2%, the first loss in five sessions on profit-taking away from a three-week high at $63.86.
Brent fell 1.2%, snapping a four-day winning streak, at which it reached April 23 highs at $66.76.
Nuclear Deal
An Iranian official told NBC News that Iran is ready to greenlight a deal with the US for lifting sanctions.
The Saudi government announced its full support for the US-Saudi Arabia nuclear talks and hopes for positive results.
US Stocks
The Energy Information Administration reported a buildup of 3.5 million barrels in US crude stocks last week to a total of 441.8 million barrels, while analysts expected a drop to 1.8 million barrels.
Gasoline stocks fell by a million barrels to 224.7 million barrels, as distillate stocks fell by 3.2 million barrels to 103.6 million barrels.
Nickel prices extend gains as dollar drops
Nickel prices rose on Thursday as the dollar declined against most major rivals while trade tensions cooled, in turn boosting global demand on minerals.
The Washington Post reported that Russia and Ukraine will hold their first high-level talks since 2022 in Istanbul, under mounting western pressure to agree on a 30-day ceasefire as a step towards peace.
US State Secretary Marco Rubio is scheduled to join the talks to bolster the chances of a deal, while Ukrainian President Zelensky called for a summit meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Positive results from the talks would bolster investor confidence and risk appetite in the markets.
The US and China agreed on suspending most tariffs on each other for 90 days after negotiations in Switzerland, in a huge step towards relaxing trade tensions between the world’s top two countries.
According to the temporary agreement, the US will cut tariffs from 145% to 30%, including a 20% tariff related to fentanyl, while China will cut tariffs from 125% to 10%.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent hailed the “very productive talks” with Chinese counterparts, and praised the place of negotiations besides the serene Geneva lake.
Bessent asserted the tariff pause will carry on for 90 days with both sides cutting tariffs by 115%.
Both sides vowed to carry on economic and trade negotiations in upcoming weeks.
Otherwise, the dollar index fell 0.3%% as of 15:22 GMT to 100.6, with a session-high at 101.06, and a low at 100.5.
On trading, nickel spot prices rose 0.9% as of 15:33 GMT to $15.6 a ton.