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The US dollar held steady in early Asian trading on Wednesday, after remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reinforced market expectations of an interest rate cut later this month.The greenback had weakened on Tuesday against both the Japanese yen and the Swiss franc, as trade tensions between the United States and China intensified following renewed tariff-related exchanges.The euro gained ground after the French government proposed suspending planned pension reforms, providing some support to the single currency.The dollar index (DXY), which measures the greenback's performance against a basket of major currencies, was unchanged at 99.06, after falling 0.2% in the previous session.Against the Japanese yen, the dollar was steady at 151.80 yen, following a 0.3% decline on Tuesday. The greenback was also little changed against the Swiss franc, trading at 0.8013 francs, after slipping 0.3% in the prior session.The euro was stable at $1.1606, maintaining gains of 0.3% recorded yesterday.Elsewhere, the Australian dollar edged up 0.1% to $0.6491, after a 0.5% drop on Tuesday that took it to its weakest level since August 22 at $0.6440. The New Zealand dollar eased 0.1% to $0.5706, extending Tuesday's 0.2% decline when it hit a six-month low of $0.5684.

Gold prices surged to a new record high above $4,100 on Tuesday, driven by growing expectations of US Federal Reserve interest rate cuts and renewed US-China trade tensions that spurred safe-haven demand. Silver also rallied to an all-time high. Spot gold rose 0.4% to $4,124.79 per ounce, after touching a record $4,131.52 earlier in the session. US gold futures for December delivery gained 0.3% to $4,143.10. The precious metal has climbed nearly 57% since the beginning of the year, breaking above the $4,100 mark for the first time on Monday. The rally has been underpinned by geopolitical and economic uncertainty, expectations of monetary easing, robust central bank purchases, and strong inflows into gold-backed exchange-traded funds. Spot silver advanced 0.3% to $52.49 per ounce, after earlier hitting $52.70. Among other precious metals, platinum rose 0.5% to $1,653.45 per ounce, while palladium added 1.6% to $1,498.25, its highest level since May 2023.

Gold and silver prices surged to new record highs on Monday, driven by strong safe-haven demand amid renewed trade tensions between the United States and China, as well as expectations that the US Federal Reserve will cut interest rates. Spot gold rose 0.7% to $4,044.29 per ounce, while US gold futures for December delivery advanced 1.6% to $4,062.50. Silver climbed 2% in spot trading to a record $51.52 per ounce, extending its recent rally. Gold, which yields no interest, has gained 54% so far this year, supported by anticipation of lower borrowing costs and increased geopolitical uncertainty. Among other precious metals, platinum rose 2.6% to $1,628.80 per ounce, while palladium gained 2.6% to $1,442.06.

Gold surged past the $4,000 mark per ounce for the first time in history on Wednesday, as investors sought safe-haven assets amid intensifying economic and geopolitical uncertainties and growing expectations of further interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve. Spot gold rose 0.1% to $4,021.22 per ounce, while US gold futures for December delivery advanced 0.5% to $4,025 per ounce. Traditionally viewed as a store of value in times of instability, gold has been one of the strongest-performing assets in 2025, soaring 53% year-to-date after posting a 27% gain in 2024. In other precious metals markets, spot silver increased 0.5% to $48.03 per ounce, platinum rose 2.2% to $1,653.21, and palladium climbed 1.3% to $1,355.32.

Gold surged to a fresh record high on Tuesday as investors sought safe-haven assets amid a prolonged US government shutdown and growing expectations of a Federal Reserve rate cut later this month. Spot gold rose 0.4% to $3,974.09 per ounce, trading near its all-time high of $3,977.19 earlier in the session. US gold futures for December delivery gained 0.5% to $3,996.40. The precious metal has climbed 51% so far this year, supported by strong central bank purchases, robust inflows into gold-backed exchange-traded funds, a weaker dollar, and increased demand from retail investors seeking protection amid heightened geopolitical and trade tensions. In other precious metals, spot silver was little changed at $48.52 per ounce, platinum rose 0.1% to $1,626.55, and palladium advanced 0.9% to $1,330.91.

Gold prices rose on Monday to hover near an all-time high, supported by a weaker dollar and growing expectations that the Federal Reserve is likely to continue with interest rate cuts later this year. Spot gold was up 0.5% at $3,776.72 per ounce. Bullion hit a record of $3,790.82 last week. US gold futures for December delivery were steady at $3,806.20. Elsewhere, spot silver rose 0.6% to $46.26 per ounce, platinum climbed 2.2% to $1,602.45 and palladium gained 0.8% at $1,279.68.

European stocks retreated on Thursday under pressure from losses in the healthcare and industrials sectors in early trading, with focus on remarks from a number of Federal Reserve (US central bank) policymakers and data scheduled later in the day to clarify the path of monetary policy.The pan‑European STOXX 600 index fell 0.5 percent to 551.3 points.Most European stock exchanges also opened lower, with both Germany's benchmark index and the UK's FTSE 100 down 0.4 percent.The healthcare stocks index dropped 1.1 percent, with German medical technology firm Siemens Healthineers falling 6 percent.British medical device maker Smith and Nephew also slipped by 1.1 percent.Losses also included the construction and building materials sector, which fell 1.1 percent, and the industrial goods and services sector, down 0.6 percent.

The US dollar faced continued pressure in Asian trading on Tuesday as investors assessed remarks from Federal Reserve officials for clues on the path of interest rates. The greenback fluctuated between gains and losses, last trading flat after snapping a three-day winning streak on Monday, with the US dollar index last at 97.326.Against the yen, the dollar was flat at 147.775 yen.The kiwi weakened 0.3% to $0.5848.The euro stood at $1.1798, little changed on the day.Sterling fluctuated between gains and losses, last trading flat at $1.35075.The dollar sank 4.5% against Argentina's peso after the US.The Indian rupee weakened to an all-time record of 88.62 against the US.The Australian dollar fetched $0.6584, weakening 0.2% after hitting a two-week low on Monday.Meanwhile, the yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes extended its climb to 4.1467%.

European shares nudged up on Thursday after the US Federal Reserve lowered borrowing costs for the first time since December, while shares of SIG plummeted after the Swiss-based company issued a profit warning. The pan-European STOXX 600 rose 0.5% to 553.49 points, in broad-based gains.In Denmark, Novo Nordisk rose 2.6%.SIG Group slid 20%.Britain's Next also lost 5.5%.

Gold prices remained steady on Monday as investors awaited a widely expected rate cut by the US Federal Reserve this week, while profit-taking and a firmer dollar kept gains in check. Spot gold held its ground at $3,642.65 per ounce.US gold futures for December delivery were down 0.2% at $3,680.20.Elsewhere, spot silver was up 0.1% at $42.20 per ounce, platinum gained 0.5% to $1,397.59, and palladium rose 0.2% to $1,197.88.

Qatar National Bank (QNB) predicted that upcoming US Federal Reserve interest-rate decisions could lead to a mild stagflation scenario, where growth slows while inflation remains above target. In its weekly report, QNB noted that the current US administration has clearly focused on monetary policy and has urged the Federal Reserve to deliver large rate cuts and adopt a more flexible stance. The report explained that monetary policy decisions are normally based on forecasts of key macroeconomic variables and a careful analysis of how interest-rate changes affect economic activity and prices, with the Federal Open Market Committee typically carrying out this process through extensive technical deliberations free from political pressure. The bank observed that new economic trends has unsettled financial markets, causing significant volatility as investors try to determine the appropriate level of interest rates for pricing assets in the new macroeconomic environment. US interest rates and Treasury yields were said to provide important information on macroeconomic expectations, particularly through the real yield curve (the gap between yields on 10-year and 2-year Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities). A wider gap indicates expectations of weaker short-term growth relative to the long term. This gap has widened in 2025 even though long-term real yields have remained stable, suggesting that longer-term growth expectations have not changed while near-term activity is expected to weaken. Recent US labor-market data were highlighted as evidence of this slowdown, showing slower job creation and a gradual rise in unemployment in recent months. Consensus forecasts for real GDP growth have also been revised downward, with expectations for 2025 and 2026 reduced by about 0.5 percentage points to 1.5% and 1.7% respectively, levels approaching the weakest annual growth since the post-COVID recession. The report stressed that real interest rates remain highly restrictive. With the federal funds rate upper bound at 4.5% and inflation at roughly 2.7%, the real rate is close to 1.8%, well above the estimated neutral rate of roughly 0.5-1.0 percentage points. QNB argued that current rates are overly tight and need adjustment to avoid a sharp growth slowdown. Short-term Treasury yields were described as closely tracking market expectations for the Fed's policy path. The two-year Treasury yield has fallen about 60 basis points this year (from a January peak of 4.40% to roughly 3.80%) signaling expectations of a substantial rate-cutting cycle. Markets now anticipate two 25-basis-point cuts by the end of 2025, followed by additional reductions through 2026, which would bring the policy rate down to around 3% by the end of that year. QNB concluded that these indicators point to a moderate stagflationary environment, with inflation staying above the Fed's 2% target even as growth weakens. Members of the Federal Open Market Committee were reported to have acknowledged a shift in the balance of risks toward slower growth, with markets expecting a policy-easing cycle that lowers the federal funds rate to roughly 3% by the end of 2026.

Market Eye Mirroring the concerns over the independence of the US Federal Reserve, the Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) Wednesday witnessed profit booking as its key index lost as much as 67 points and capitalisation melted in excess of QR2bn. The banks and consumer goods sectors experienced higher than average selling pressure as the 20-stock Qatar Index shed 0.58% to 11,338.81 points, although it touched an intraday high of 11,420 points. The Arab individuals were seen increasingly net profit takers in the main market, whose year-to-date gains truncated to 7.26%. The Gulf retail investors’ higher net selling had its influence on the main bourse, whose capitalisation melted QR2.11bn or 0.31 to QR677.68bn mainly on small and microcap segments. The Gulf funds’ substantially weakened net buying had its effect on the main market, which saw as many as 1,500 exchange traded funds (sponsored by AlRayan Bank and Doha Bank) valued at QR0.01mn trade across three deals. The local retail investors continued to be bearish but with lesser vigour in the main bourse, whose trade turnover and volumes were on the decrease. The Islamic index fell slower than the other indices of the main market, which saw no trading of treasury bills. The foreign institutions continued to be net profit takers but with lesser intensity in the main bourse, which saw no trading of sovereign bonds. The Total Return Index shed 0.58% and the All Share Index by 0.45% and the All Islamic Index by 0.43% in the main market. The banks and financial services sector declined 0.72%, consumer goods and services (0.53%), transport (0.38%), real estate (0.34%), telecom (0.06%) and industrials (0.05%); even as insurance gained 1.24%. Major shakers in the main market included Woqod, QIIB, Qatar Islamic Bank, Inma Holding, Nakilat, Widam Food, Gulf International Services and Barwa. Nevertheless, Meeza, Estithmar Holding, Qatar Insurance, Doha Bank, QLM, Ezdan, Gulf Warehousing and Milaha were among the movers in the main bourse. In the venture market, Techno Q saw its shares appreciate in value. The Arab individual investors’ net selling increased noticeably to QR3.38mn compared to QR1.98mn the previous day. The Gulf retail investors’ net profit booking expanded marginally to QR0.59mn against QR0.52mn on August 26. The Gulf institutions’ net buying weakened substantially to QR8.3mn compared to QR180.48mn on Tuesday. However, the domestic funds turned net buyers to the tune of QR31.4mn against net sellers of QR22.51mn the previous day. The foreign individuals were net buyers to the extent of QR1.86mn compared with net buyers of QR3.24mn on August 26. The foreign institutions’ net profit booking decreased drastically to QR31.06mn against QR105.83mn on Tuesday. The local retail investors’ net selling shrank significantly to QR6.35mn compared to QR45.84mn the previous day. The Arab institutions’ net profit booking eased marginally to QR0.18mn against QR0.56mn on August 26. The main market saw a 42% plunge in trade volumes to 139.42mn shares, 64% in value to Q3449962mn and 51% in deals to 17,159. In the venture market, a total of 0.09mn equities valued at QR0.24mn changed hands across 22 transactions.