2025-12-22 17:43
Miran likely to stay until successor confirmed by Senate Miran favors larger rate cuts at deeply split central bank Hammack opposes cuts, cites high inflation concerns Dec 22 (Reuters) - U.S. Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran said on Monday he is likely to remain on the central bank's Board of Governors beyond the expiration of his term until whoever President Donald Trump nominates as the next Fed chair is confirmed by the Senate. "If nobody is confirmed in my seat by January 31, I assume that I will stay," Miran said on Bloomberg Television. Trump could name a nominee to succeed Fed Chair Jerome Powell by the first week of January, CNBC reported on Monday. Sign up here. Miran has established himself as the Fed's most dovish policymaker since joining the Fed in September to serve the last few months of a 14-year term after the unexpected resignation of Fed Governor Adriana Kugler. MIRAN FAVORED BIGGER RATE CUTS At each of the three policy meetings Miran has attended, he dissented in favor of a bigger rate cut than the quarter-point the majority agreed to. His term expires on January 31, just days after the Fed's first policy-setting meeting of 2026, but he is permitted to stay until a successor is installed. Asked if he would continue to argue for half-point interest rate cuts, Miran said he had yet to decide. "As we continue reducing policy, I think you sort of get into territory where you can start micromanaging instead of (making) big cuts," he told Bloomberg TV. "And I don't know whether we're here yet, or it would still take a couple more cuts to get there, but at some point, you start to become OK with steady 25-basis-point cuts instead of 50-basis-point cuts." The Fed's December 10 rate cut brought the target range for U.S. benchmark short-term borrowing costs to 3.50%-3.75%, in the upper range of policymakers' estimates for a neutral level that neither boosts nor brakes the economy. About a third of the central bank's 19 policymakers felt the rate cut was unnecessary, based on projections published by the Fed at the time. "My base case is that we can stay here for some period of time, until we get clearer evidence that either inflation is coming back down to target or the employment side is weakening more materially," Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack, one of those rate-cut skeptics, told the Wall Street Journal in a podcast interview recorded on Thursday and published on the weekend. Hammack said she felt inflation was too high to warrant rate cuts, and that November’s consumer price index of 2.7% probably understated 12-month price growth due to data distortions. Miran called that hawkish view "wrong," even as he credited Powell with forging a consensus around policy easing among the deeply divided group. "I think you have to give Chairman Powell credit for having wrangled three cuts out of these guys in succession," Miran said. "It's a cat-herding task." Trump is considering three finalists for Fed chair, all of whom support the rate cuts that Trump says are a condition of getting the job. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/feds-miran-says-hell-likely-stay-after-term-ends-until-his-seat-is-filled-2025-12-22/
2025-12-22 15:25
Dec 22 (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N) , opens new tab is considering offering cryptocurrency trading to its institutional clients, Bloomberg News reported on Monday, underscoring Wall Street banks' growing participation in the digital assets sector. The largest U.S. bank is assessing what services the markets business could offer to expand its footprint in cryptocurrencies, the report said, citing a person familiar with the plans, adding that it could include spot and derivatives trading. Sign up here. The efforts are in early stages and concrete plans will depend on whether there is enough demand for any specific product, the report said. JPMorgan declined to comment. Reuters could not independently verify the report. A potential move would mark another significant step in the broader institutional adoption of digital assets under U.S. President Donald Trump, who has pledged to make America the "crypto capital of the world." Morgan Stanley (MS.N) , opens new tab will offer cryptocurrency trading on its E*Trade platform from the first half of 2026 through a partnership with Zerohash, an infrastructure provider for digital assets. Recently, JPMorgan has also been active in the blockchain space. Earlier this month, the bank arranged a short-term bond for Galaxy Digital (GLXY.O) , opens new tab on the Solana blockchain. The global cryptocurrency market is currently valued at around $3.1 trillion, with the world's largest cryptocurrency, bitcoin, accounting for about $1.8 trillion, according to data from CoinGecko. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/jpmorgan-exploring-crypto-trading-institutional-clients-bloomberg-news-reports-2025-12-22/
2025-12-22 14:00
MUMBAI, Dec 22 (Reuters) - The Reserve Bank of India sold a net $11.88 billion in the foreign exchange market in October, data released on Monday showed, reflecting the central bank's efforts to support the rupee. The RBI said in its monthly bulletin that it purchased $17.69 billion dollars and sold $29.56 billion during the month. In September, the central bank had net sold $7.91 billion in the spot market. Sign up here. The rupee closed at 88.7650 against the U.S. dollar in October, having hit 88.80 in late September, which was a record low at the time. The RBI's net outstanding forward sales stood at $63.61 billion as of end-October, up from $59.41 billion at the end of the prior month, the data showed. The central bank intervenes in the spot and forward markets to curb exchange rate volatility. The rupee hit a record low of 91.075 last week before recovering on the back of the RBI's intervention. On Monday, it closed down 0.43% at 89.65. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/indian-central-bank-net-sold-1188-billion-october-arrest-rupees-fall-bulletin-2025-12-22/
2025-12-22 13:43
ABUJA, Dec 22 (Reuters) - African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and Heirs Energies Ltd have signed a $750 million financing agreement to strengthen the energy firm's capital structure and fund its field development programme in Nigeria, the companies said on Monday. The dual-tranche senior secured reserve-based lending facility, arranged by Afreximbank, will provide liquidity to support Heirs Energies' growth strategy as it seeks to ramp up oil and gas production. Afreximbank acted as mandated lead arranger, facility agent and security agent for the deal. Sign up here. "This partnership is a testament to Afreximbank's commitment to value creation and empowering African entrepreneurs," said Afreximbank President George Elombi at the signing ceremony in Abuja. He added that the bank planned to channel significant capital into the proposed African Energy Bank. Heirs Energies Chairman Tony Elumelu said the transaction underscored the role of African capital in financing the continent's future. "It reflects the successful journey Heirs Energies has taken – from turnaround to growth," he said. The deal builds on a 2021 transaction in which Heirs Energies, then Heirs Oil & Gas, acquired a 45% stake in OML 17 for $1.1 billion, backed by Afreximbank and other lenders. Since then, the company has doubled crude output to about 50,000 barrels per day and become a leading gas supplier to Nigeria's power sector. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/afreximbank-heirs-energies-seal-750-million-financing-deal-boost-nigerias-oil-2025-12-22/
2025-12-22 12:54
LONDON, Dec 22 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar's share of global currency reserves reported to the International Monetary Fund edged lower to 56.92% in the third quarter of 2025, while the share of euro-denominated reserves crept higher, International Monetary Fund data showed. The data, released on Friday, broadly shows a stabilisation in the three months to the end of September after large swings in the second quarter, when forex markets, especially the U.S. dollar, were rocked by U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff announcements. Sign up here. By the end of the second quarter, the share of global currency reserves held in the dollar was 57.08%, while the share of euros gained, rising to 20.33% from 20.24% quarter-on-quarter, the IMF's Currency Composition of Official Foreign Exchange Reserves data showed. It also showed the share of reserves held in the Japanese yen increased to 5.82% in the third quarter from 5.65% in the second quarter. "For both dollar and euro reserves, our FX valuation adjustment suggests that reserve managers leaned into currency market fluctuations," Goldman Sachs analysts said on the data. "Q3 saw a stabilisation in reported reserves with only minimal shifts in the share of USD and EUR reserves following large swings in reported reserves in Q2." This year's swings have spurred a debate on whether the U.S. dollar could lose its status as the world's reserve currency of choice and the centre point of the global monetary system. Some analysts point to nascent signs of de-dollarisation, but there is broad agreement that any such shift would be very slow. The IMF data also reflected a change in methodology, with the IMF imputing the "unallocated" portion of reserves. Previously, the data had included an "unallocated" category to reflect the gaps caused by non-reporting or incomplete submissions. The change in methodology, which is reflected in data backdated to 2000, resulted in some small adjustments. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/imf-reserve-data-shows-stabilisation-third-quarter-2025-12-22/
2025-12-22 11:53
Sterling gains against dollar UK economy grows 0.1% in third quarter, BoE expects zero growth in fourth quarter Money markets price in at least one rate cut in 2026 LONDON, Dec 22 (Reuters) - The pound rose on Monday, building on gains made last week after the Bank of England delivered a widely expected rate cut, but suggested that the bar for further declines was high, given persistent inflation. Sterling was up 0.48% against the dollar at around $1.3438, having ended the previous week flat after hitting a two-month high. It is up over 1% so far this month, bringing the gain for the year to around 7%. Sign up here. But the currency has struggled against the euro , which is up nearly 6% against the pound this year, set for its strongest annual performance since 2016, when the Brexit vote took place. INTEREST RATES DETERMINE STERLING'S PERFORMANCE Interest rates are playing a leading role in sterling's performance. With the Federal Reserve expected to deliver at least two more rate cuts next year, the dollar is under pressure against most currencies, while the European Central Bank is widely believed to have finished cutting rates for now. That leaves the pound with a theoretical edge over the U.S. currency, but at a disadvantage to the euro. The BoE, meanwhile, cut rates by a quarter point to 3.75% in a narrow vote that suggested some policymakers remain concerned about the level of inflation. The decline in November to 3.2% helped to make the case for last week's rate cut, but that rate is still well above the BoE's 2% target and wage growth is slower, but still elevated. Governor Andrew Bailey said after the BoE decision, the overall trend for interest rates was down, but this might not happen as quickly as some analysts expect. Data from the Office for National Statistics on Monday showed Britain's economy grew by 0.1% in the July-to-September period of this year. This was in line with the office's initial estimate, while economists polled by Reuters had also forecast the reading would be unrevised. Last week, the BoE said it expected zero GDP growth in the October-to-December period but it thought that the underlying pace of economic growth was around 0.2% per quarter. “With the Bank of England expecting growth to come to a standstill in the last few months of the year, thanks in part to the impact of the Budget on overall confidence, it’s clear there are huge challenges to overcome if the UK’s growth story is going to become more compelling," Danni Hewson, AJ Bell head of financial analysis, said. Money markets show traders think the Bank will deliver at least one rate cut in the first half of the year, and place a roughly 50% chance on a second before the year-end. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/sterling-keeps-rising-after-bank-england-raised-bar-rate-cuts-2025-12-22/
