31 minutes ago
South Korea’s consumer price growth rate slowed in April
It was announced that the pace of increase in consumer prices in South Korea in April compared to the same month last year slowed compared to March. Official data.
The CPI in April was 2.9% compared to the same month last year, and rose 3.1% in March. That was also below expectations of a 3% rise in a Reuters poll of economists.
Core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, rose 2.3%. This was slightly slower than the 2.4% increase in March.
South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.1% on the move.
— Shreyashi Sanyal
5 hours ago
US crude oil drops below $80, hitting 7-week low as inventories surge due to sluggish demand
A lone pumpjack located in the middle of a large solar array outside Bakersfield, Kern County, California.
Global Citizen | Universal Images Group | Getty Images
U.S. crude oil prices fell more than 3% on Wednesday to below $80 a barrel as weak demand caused crude oil inventories to surge.
West Texas Intermediate for June delivery fell $2.83, or 3.45%, to $79.10 a barrel, a seven-week low. Brent futures for July contract fell $2.77, or 3.21%, to $83.56 per barrel.
U.S. oil inventories have risen to their highest level since June 2023 as a slowdown in gasoline demand has caused refineries to process less crude oil.
“Refiners are absolutely struggling with capacity utilization because they don’t believe the demand is there,” said Bob Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho Americas.
— Spencer Kimball
6 hours ago
The Federal Reserve is moving to keep interest rates unchanged and ease the pace of balance sheet reduction.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell announced at a press conference on May 1, 2024 at the William McChesney Martin Bank Building in Washington, D.C., that interest rates would remain unchanged.
Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images
The US Federal Reserve (Fed) on Wednesday decided not to cut interest rates and kept them on hold to counter persistent price pressures.
In a widely expected move, the central bank kept the benchmark interest rate on short-term borrowings unchanged at its target range of 5.25-5%. The federal funds rate has been at that level since July 2023.
The Federal Open Market Committee voted to slow the pace of reductions in bond holdings on the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet, which could signal a gradual easing of monetary policy.
The S&P 500 fell slightly following this decision.
— Sarah Ming, Jeff Cox
6 hours ago
Dollar index falls to trading low
The dollar index fell 0.1% to 106.09 on Wednesday afternoon after the US Federal Reserve decided to keep the benchmark short-term borrowing rate in the range of 5.25% to 5%. This decision was widely anticipated by the market.
However, the dollar index is still above Tuesday’s low of 105.667.
— Ha-Kyung Kim, Gina Francola
