Year: 2025

South Korea FX Reserves declined to 404.6B in May from previous 404.67B

USD/JPY slumped 130 pips on Monday, rebounded 130 pips on Tuesday and fell 130 pips today.

These are wide moves in a pair that was once known as a sleepy pair. To start the week, trade was the driver but today the focus was on the US economy. Soft readings on ADP employment and ISM services were the catalyst for USD sales.

The selling didn’t kick off until the start of US trading as the data began to cross. To the downside, there is support at yesterday’s intraday low of 142.36 followed by last week’s low of 142.10.

Keep an eye on Treasury yields as US 10s have fallen to a one-month low of 4.35%. The market is fully priced for a September rate cut.

This article was written by Adam Button at www.forexlive.com.

Trump has branded Powell with the nickname “Too Late” as a criticism of the Fed Chair’s continuing decision to hold interest rates steady.

Developers including Amazon and Spotify have been able to update their apps to avoid Apple’s 15% to 30% commission.

The Fed has indicated that interest rates aren’t coming down just yet. Here’s how to make the most of where we stand.

US auto supplier group says “immediate and decisive action is needed to prevent widespread disruption and economic fallout across the vehicle supplier sector” on Chinese rare earth issue.

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The warning from the U.S. auto supplier group reflects growing concerns that tightening Chinese controls over rare earth exports could severely disrupt the supply chains critical to vehicle manufacturing. Rare earth elements are essential components in electric motors, batteries, and various high-tech systems used in modern vehicles. With China dominating global production and processing of these materials, any restrictions threaten to stall production lines, increase costs, and delay vehicle deliveries. The group’s call for “immediate and decisive action” underscores the urgency to secure alternative sources or build domestic capacity to avoid a potential economic shock across the entire automotive supply chain.

This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at www.forexlive.com.

The primary bombing suspect used an unnamed AI chat program to research information about “explosives, diesel, gasoline mixtures and detonation velocity.”

Real wages fell for a fourth consecutive month in Japan in April

-1.8% y/y,

• from -1.8% also in March and -1.5% in
  February

Base pay +2.2% y/y, the fastest in four months

• Overtime pay +0.8%

Total average cash earnings, or nominal pay, +2.3%

• from +2.3% also in March

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Inflation-adjusted real wages are a key determinant of households’ purchasing power. The prolonged decline will troubl;e Bank of Japan rate hike desires.

This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at www.forexlive.com.

Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari:

• labour market is showing some signs of slowing down
• inflation rate still not back to 2% target
• there is persistent uncertainty over the economy
• Fed must stay in wait and see mode to assess how economy responds to the uncertainty
• the bond and equity markets are sending conflicting signals

This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at www.forexlive.com.

Gold price rallied over 0.80% on Wednesday during the North American session. The release of weaker-than-expected economic data from the United States (US) pushed XAU/USD higher as business activity softened and the jobs market added fewer people to the workforce.