2026-01-28 05:25
MUMBAI, Jan 28 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee rose slightly on Wednesday as the dollar tumbled to a nearly four-year low but the currency stayed in a tight band, unable to join its Asian peers' gains, on month-end dollar demand from corporate firms. The rupee was last up 0.1% to 91.6350 per dollar as of 10:50 a.m. IST, lagging behind the sharp gains in most regional peers. Sign up here. The U.S. dollar struggled near four-year lows against major peers on Wednesday after President Donald Trump brushed off its recent weakness, exacerbating the dollar-selling and helping lift currencies such as the euro, Korean won and the Chinese yuan. However, the rupee was unable to catch this tailwind due to corporate dollar demand related to month-end needs and repayments of offshore borrowings, traders said. A broadly weaker dollar gives rupee some relief from the risk of hitting new record lows but it's unlikely to be a catalyst for a meaningful recovery, a trader at a state-run bank said. A turnaround, analysts reckon, is likely only if the capital flows picture for the INR improves. Foreign investors have sold $4 billion of local stocks on a net basis over January so far, adding to the record annual outflow of $19 billion in 2025. "Continued central bank presence in the market, combined with a softer dollar backdrop, may help stabilise the USD/INR pair and gradually pull it back toward the 90.80–91.00 zone in the near term," said Amit Pabari, managing director at FX advisory firm CR Forex. Investors will now turn their attention to the Federal Reserve's policy decision due later on Wednesday. No change in policy rates is expected but Fed Chair Jerome Powell's comments will be in focus to gauge his views on ongoing threats to central bank independence and how well his commentary aligns with the rate path money markets are pricing. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/rupee-set-find-more-breathing-room-after-trump-remarks-jolt-dollar-2026-01-28/
2026-01-28 04:31
BANGKOK, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Thailand will impose controls on gold trading as it bids to tackle its overvalued baht currency and ease pressures on economic growth, central bank governor Vitai Ratanakorn said on Wednesday. The baht has gained about 1.5% against the dollar so far this year after a 9% rise in 2025, threatening the competitiveness of the export and tourism sectors. Sign up here. With the rapid appreciation driven in large part by gold trading, Thailand will cap daily gold transactions at 50 million baht ($1.62 million) starting from March, Vitai said. "The objective is to reduce volatility and prevent sharp appreciation of the baht that could affect the broader economy," he said, adding that large gold transactions conducted in baht generate rapid inflows and reduce the reliance on the U.S. dollar. Vitai said Thailand's economy may grow by up to 1.7% this year and is still below its potential. Growth should be as high as 2.7%, and as well as short-term stimulus measures, efforts were also required to tackle "structural" issues in the economy, he said. He added that next year the economy should grow between 2.2% to 2.3%, with inflation also expected to return to its target range. Southeast Asia's second-largest economy has been struggling with the appreciating baht, U.S. tariffs, high household debt, a border conflict with Cambodia and political uncertainty ahead of elections in early February. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/thailand-strengthen-controls-gold-trading-curb-baht-rise-central-bank-chief-says-2026-01-28/
2026-01-28 01:40
Jan 28 (Reuters) - Gold surged above $5,200 an ounce on Wednesday to a record high, extending a historic rally as economic and geopolitical uncertainty drove demand for the safe-haven yellow metal. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/gold-vaults-past-5200-record-high-2026-01-28/
2026-01-28 00:52
WASHINGTON, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Grain trader Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (ADM.N) , opens new tab will pay a $40 million civil penalty after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged it and two of its former executives with inflating the performance of a key business segment, the regulator said on Tuesday. With the agreement, the U.S. Department of Justice closed a related criminal probe without bringing charges. Sign up here. The resolution concludes years-long government investigations into accounting issues at ADM that forced the grain trader to twice revise its financial reports, prompting share losses and leading to shareholder litigation. The settlement includes charges brought against former executives Vince Macciocchi and Ray Young. A lawyer for ADM did not respond immediately to a request for comment, but in a statement on the company's website, CEO Juan Luciano said the company is pleased to put the matter behind them and has taken "extensive actions" to enhance internal controls. Lawyers for Young and Macciocchi also did not respond immediately to requests for comment. ADM shares were up 0.34% in after-hours trading on Tuesday. Federal prosecutors opened a probe in early 2024 into accounting issues at ADM tied to the performance of its highly touted "Nutrition" unit, Reuters previously reported. The government investigations as well as an internal inquiry led to the exit of ADM's former chief financial officer. The investigation involved internal company transactions that inaccurately reported financial results for the "Nutrition" unit, which was launched in 2018 to accelerate development of high-value specialty ingredients for the food, beverage and animal feed industries. News of the accounting irregularities broke in early 2024, sending ADM shares plummeting and heaping pressure on top executives, including Luciano, as top executive compensation had been tied to growth in the Nutrition unit. The investigation into "intersegment" transactions between the company's business segments focused on whether ADM deliberately boosted Nutrition's performance by providing it with below-cost goods from other company units. The SEC considered ADM’s cooperation in accepting the settlement offer, the regulator said in a statement. Specifically, the company conducted an internal investigation, voluntarily reported its findings to agency staff, and provided the staff with additional analyses from an outside accounting expert. ADM’s remedial measures included implementing new internal accounting controls around intersegment transactions, amending its policies and procedures, and testing the effectiveness of its new controls, among other things, the SEC said. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the closing of the criminal case. https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/adm-pay-40-million-us-sec-settlement-avoids-criminal-charges-2026-01-28/
2026-01-28 00:52
Core Q4 inflation rises to uncomfortable level, puts RBA on high alert Headline inflation also accelerates in December, lifts annual pace to 3.8% Markets raise bets for rate hike next week to 73% from 60% before SYDNEY, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Australia's underlying inflation ran at a faster-than-expected pace in the December quarter, adding to a recent slew of hot economic data that has investors baying for an interest rate hike as soon as next week. The firm data prompted ANZ and Westpac to call for a quarter-point rate hike from the Reserve Bank of Australia when it next decides on policy on February 3, joining the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and the National Australia Bank. Sign up here. Swaps now imply a 73% probability for a hike, compared with 60% before. The trimmed mean consumer price index (CPI), a policy-relevant measure of core inflation, rose 0.9% in the fourth quarter from the quarter before, Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed on Wednesday, topping economists' forecasts of a 0.8% increase. That lifted the annual pace to 3.4%, the highest in five quarters and well above the RBA's target band of 2% to 3%. "We think the RBA will conclude that demand is running ahead of supply and that an interest rate adjustment would help ensure inflation returns to the target," said Adam Boyton, head of Australian Economics at ANZ. "In the wake of an interest rate increase we would anticipate material softening in leading indicators of activity... we view this as a single 'insurance' tightening, not the start of a series of rate hikes." For December alone, the headline CPI rose 1% from the previous month, the biggest jump since July as the expiry of government rebates drove electricity prices higher and holiday demand boosted travel and accommodation costs. The annual pace picked up to 3.8% from 3.4% in November and above forecasts of a 3.6% rise. Expectations of a hot result had been building in the market, with three-year government bond yields hitting a two-year top of 4.339% immediately after the data. They were last down 1 basis point at 4.257%. The Australian dollar , which rallied 1.4% overnight to hit a three-year high as the greenback tumbled, was down 0.2% at $0.6997. 'MORE TO DO' ON INFLATION Treasurer Jim Chalmers on Wednesday acknowledged that price pressures are lingering longer than the government would have liked and he would not preempt the decisions taken by the Reserve Bank. "Today's numbers are a really important reminder that there is always more to do when it comes to tackling the big challenges in our economy," he said at a press conference. The RBA cut interest rates three times last year to 3.6%, but inflation has since reared its head again. Policymakers have warned the entire easing cycle may be over, and the next move in rates could be up, rather than down. Deputy Governor Andrew Hauser said the central bank does not act on one inflation report and would not necessarily hike if the quarterly trimmed mean came in at 1%, but rather it would take a view about the whole economy. The recent flow of data, however, has underscored stronger-than-expected economic momentum, with a surprise fall in the unemployment rate suggesting the labour market may have started to tighten again. Robust consumer spending, record-high housing prices and a recovery in business investment are adding to the case that the economy could be already bumping up against its speed limit. "Together with strong labour market data and capacity constraints, the case for tighter monetary policy is clear," said Cherelle Murphy, EY chief economist. "A higher cash rate, starting with a 25-basis-point increase to take it to 3.85% next week, will be necessary for the Reserve Bank to get inflation back into its 2% to 3% target band." https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/australia-core-inflation-tops-forecasts-stokes-risk-rate-hike-2026-01-28/
2026-01-28 00:50
TOKYO, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Bank of Japan policymakers agreed on the need to keep raising interest rates, with some emphasising the role of a weak yen on underlying inflation and the timing of the next interest rate hike, minutes of their December meeting showed on Wednesday. The remarks highlight the board's readiness to continue pushing up still-low borrowing costs even after its decision in December to raise the policy rate to a 30-year high of 0.75%. Sign up here. "Given current very low real interest rates, members agreed it was appropriate to continue raising interest rates if their economic and price forecasts materialise," the minutes showed. "Although addressing currency market moves is not itself the purpose of monetary policy, the BOJ should give consideration to the impact of the yen's slide on inflation rates, and in some cases, underlying inflation, in deciding whether to raise the policy rate," the minutes quoted some members as saying. One member said the yen's fall and rising long-term interest rates were partly due to the BOJ's policy rate being too low relative to the rate of inflation, the minutes said. "Raising the policy rate in a timely manner could curb future inflationary pressure and hold down long-term rates," the member was quoted as saying. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/boj-members-agree-need-continue-raising-rates-minutes-show-2026-01-28/
