Yellen said Wednesday that the central bank may start raising short-term interest rates at its December policy meeting as the US economy is “performing well”. “With numbers like these, the Fed are nearly duty bound to raise rates within this year”, Mitsubishi precious metals analyst Jonathan Butler said.
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While Yellen said “no decision has been made”, she made it clear the option is on the table during a House Financial Services Committee hearing Wednesday, reported Fox Business.
Though the number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits is a proxy for layoffs across the country, the data focus for this week remains Friday’s October jobs report.
During her regular semi-annual testimony to Congress, Yellen said that an interest rate hike in December would be a “live possibility” if the economy stays on track.
The British pound fell 1.2 percent on Thursday, its biggest drop since late August, after the Bank of England’s governor dismissed the view it would raise interest rates shortly after the Fed. She added, “It could be appropriate” to increase the interest rates at the next policy meeting of the Fed Reserve scheduled in mid-December.
Economic strength in certain parts of the nation, especially Silicon Valley in California and in the New York-Washington, D.C., corridor, is masking less vitality in other areas, Malpass said in an interview with The Arizona Republic before speaking to officials and clients of Arizona Bank &Trust on Friday.
Once considered an unlikely scenario, a December rate increase seems more likely by the day.
The West Texas Intermediate for December delivery fell 1.58 dollars to 46.32 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for December delivery decreased 1.96 dollars to 48.58 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
Spot gold had ticked up 0.5 per cent at $1,109.10 an ounce by 0647 GMT (12:17 p.m.in India), not far from $1,102.35 hit in the previous session, the lowest since September 11. Britain’s FTSE 100 was down 0.1 percent at 6,357.82.
The S&P 500 index lost 7.5 to close at 2,109.8 points, while the Nasdaq fell 2.7 points to 5,142.5.
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In corporate news, shares of AstraZeneca climbed more than 4% after the drug maker raised its revenue and earnings forecasts for the year after better-than-expected third-quarter results. The greenback is holding above the 98 level at near its highest point in several months.
