2024-10-01 04:27

Oct 1 (Reuters) - Safe haven currencies strengthened on Tuesday as Iran launched missiles towards Israel, while the dollar also firmed on data showing a resilient U.S. labor market. The missiles were fired in retaliation for Israel's campaign against Tehran's Hezbollah allies in Lebanon. In response, U.S. President Joe Biden directed the U.S. military to aid Israel's defense and shoot down missiles aimed at Israel, the White House National Security Council said. "The market has largely ignored the Middle East conflict in the last month, but a direct Iran-Israel confrontation is always at risk of spiraling," said Adam Button, chief currency analyst at ForexLive in Toronto. The Japanese yen was last down 0.04% against the greenback at 143.7 per dollar. The dollar had reached 144.53 yen before news of Israel's missile launch broke. Against the Swiss franc , the dollar strengthened 0.2% to 0.847. The Swiss currency rallied on news of the missiles, before reversing gains and trading close to where it had been before the news. The dollar index rose 0.45% to 101.20. U.S. data on Tuesday showed a solid economy, a day after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell pushed back against the likelihood of another 50-basis point rate cut when the U.S. central bank meets next month. U.S. job openings unexpectedly increased in August after two straight monthly decreases, but hiring was consistent with a slowing labor market. U.S. manufacturing held steady at weaker levels in September, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said, but new orders improved and prices paid for inputs declined to a nine-month low. Together with falling interest rates, this bodes well for a rebound in the coming months. Traders are gauging the likelihood that the Fed will cut rates again by 50 basis points at its Nov. 6-7 meeting. Powell indicated on Monday the Fed would likely stick with quarter-percentage-point interest rate cuts and was not "in a hurry" after data boosted confidence in ongoing economic growth and consumer spending. "The door has not been closed on a 50 bps cut, because if economic data tanks, then such a cut is warranted. But Powell clearly thinks markets are overly excited" about upcoming cuts, said Matt Simpson, senior market analyst at City Index. Traders are pricing in a 38% chance of a 50 basis point reduction in November, up from around 35% on Monday but down from 58% a week ago, CME Group's FedWatch Tool showed. The U.S. central bank on Sept. 18 cut rates by 50 basis points, which Powell called a "recalibration" to account for the sharp decline in inflation since last year. The ISM's non-manufacturing report on Thursday and Friday's closely watched government jobs report for September are the next major U.S. economic releases. U.S. East Coast and Gulf Coast dockworkers began a strike on Tuesday, their first large-scale stoppage in nearly 50 years, which analysts say could hurt U.S. economic growth. The euro was last down 0.57% at $1.1071, following dovish comments by European Central Bank (ECB) officials. ECB President Christine Lagarde told parliament that "the latest developments strengthen our confidence that inflation will return to target in a timely manner," and said this should be reflected in the Oct. 17 policy decision. Euro zone inflation dipped below 2% for the first time since mid-2021 in September, Eurostat data showed on Tuesday. Traders are also focused on Japan's new government. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, seen as a monetary policy hawk, on Tuesday unveiled his cabinet as he seeks to heal party divisions and secure a national mandate with an Oct. 27 snap election. Bank of Japan policymakers discussed the need to go slow in raising interest rates, a summary of their September meeting showed, reducing the chance of a near-term rate hike. In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin fell 2.89% to $61,943. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/dollar-firm-after-powell-pushes-back-aggressive-easing-bets-2024-10-01/

2024-10-01 03:20

TAIPEI, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Taiwan's TSMC (2330.TW) , opens new tab, the world's largest contract chipmaker, said on Tuesday that it has activated its routine typhoon preparation procedures ahead of the arrival of Typhoon Krathon and does not expect a significant impact to its operations. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/technology/tsmc-says-it-does-not-expect-significant-impact-typhoon-krathon-2024-10-01/

2024-10-01 03:10

MUMBAI, Oct 1 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee is expected to open slightly weaker and stay under pressure on Tuesday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell pushed back against expectations of more larger-than-usual interest rate cuts, boosting the U.S. dollar. The 1-month non-deliverable forward indicated that the rupee will open at 83.80-83.81 to the U.S. dollar compared with 83.7925 in the previous session. The dollar index and U.S. bond yields rose after Powell's comments, where he emphasised that the Fed was not "in a hurry" to cut rates after recent data boosted confidence in ongoing economic growth. Following the Fed Chair's remarks, odds of a 50-basis-point rate reduction in November declined to nearly 39%, from 53% a day earlier, according to CME's FedWatch tool. Asian currencies were mostly weaker, with the Malaysian ringgit down 0.8% and leading losses. Elevated dollar demand on account of equity-related outflows could also keep the rupee under pressure, a foreign exchange trader at a private bank said. But the currency is expected to find support around 83.90 as those levels would be quite appealing for exporters to sell dollars, the trader added. Benchmark Indian equity indexes, the BSE Sensex (.BSESN) , opens new tab and Nifty 50 (.NSEI) , opens new tab posted their steepest single-day drop in two months on Monday, with overseas investors net selling stocks worth $1.1 billion, according to provisional exchange data. Despite intermittent pressures, analysts expect the Fed's easing cycle to continue weighing on the dollar which should help emerging market currencies, including the rupee. "Our FX Strategist expects the broader dollar index to test crucial support levels in the quarter ahead, which might see the INR gain ground but still lag the recovery in Asian peers," DBS Bank said in a note. KEY INDICATORS: ** One-month non-deliverable rupee forward at 83.92; onshore one-month forward premium at 12.25 paisa ** Dollar index at 100.76 ** Brent crude futures up 0.2% at $71.8 per barrel ** Ten-year U.S. note yield at 3.78% ** As per NSDL data, foreign investors bought a net $43.5mln worth of Indian shares on Sep. 29 ** NSDL data shows foreign investors bought a net $50.4mln worth of Indian bonds on Sep. 29 Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/rupee-may-struggle-after-powell-dampens-hopes-another-jumbo-rate-cut-2024-10-01/

2024-09-30 23:47

WASHINGTON, Sept 30 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden said he plans to travel to storm-ravaged North Carolina on Wednesday to view the toll from Hurricane Helene. Western North Carolina residents faced a "post-apocalyptic" landscape on Monday in the wake of Helene, with hundreds of people still missing and residents struggling amid flooded roads and a lack of basic services. Biden told reporters he planned to go to North Carolina after a briefing with the state's governor, Roy Cooper, and Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell. Biden will participate in a local briefing and an aerial tour of Asheville, he later said on social media platform "X." He said he also plans to travel to Georgia and Florida as soon as possible. Biden accused Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump of "lying" on Monday for saying that Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, a Republican, had trouble reaching the White House in the aftermath of the storm. "That’s simply not true, and it’s irresponsible,” Biden told reporters. Kemp and Biden confirmed that the two spoke on Sunday. A Trump spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Officials reported more than 100 deaths across a half-dozen states due to Helene, which was a major hurricane when it slammed into Florida's Big Bend region late on Thursday before cutting a destructive path through Georgia and into the Carolinas. Officials said the death toll was likely to rise even as they clung to hope that emergency responders would find most of those unaccounted for as they reached more locations and as emergency mobile telecommunications services came online. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/biden-will-visit-storm-ravaged-north-carolina-wednesday-2024-09-30/

2024-09-30 23:08

LONDON, Oct 1(Reuters) - Britain on Tuesday launched a National Energy System Operator (NESO) to oversee the country’s electricity and gas systems as it seeks to move towards its 2050 net zero climate target. As part of efforts to meet the climate goal, Britain’s Labour government aims to decarbonise the electricity sector by 2030, which will require an increase in the use of renewables, such as wind and solar, less gas use and a ramp up in infrastructure and power grid investment. “NESO will sit at the heart of the energy industry ensuring that a holistic, whole system approach is taken in delivering decarbonisation across energy, heating, transport and beyond in order to deliver net-zero,” Fintan Slye, NESO chief executive said in a statement. The independent NESO body will be responsible for managing the country’s electricity system in real time, planning future development of the gas and electricity systems and advising the government and regulator Ofgem on how the climate targets can be met. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/britain-launches-national-energy-system-operator-road-net-zero-2024-09-30/

2024-09-30 23:07

DUBLIN, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Ireland will hand voters billions of euros of tax cuts and spending increases and outline plans to use a whopping Apple (AAPL.O) , opens new tab back tax windfall to improve the country's creaking infrastructure in Tuesday's bumper pre-election budget. Prime Minister Simon Harris must call an election by March but most analysts see November as the most likely date, when voters will start to benefit from the latest budget splurge resulting from Europe's healthiest set of public finances. A surge in corporate tax revenues mainly paid by a handful of large U.S. multinationals has handed Ireland one of Europe's few budget surpluses, with the added 14 billion euros ($15.62 billion) of Apple back taxes set to push it to 8% of national income this year. The government has pledged to use the proceeds of the EU Apple court order on longer term water, energy and housing projects but will still break its own budget rule that caps spending growth for the third successive year by increasing day-to-day spending by at least 6.9% or almost 7 billion euros. Some EU countries are contemplating spending cuts and tax hikes, but new Irish Finance Minister Jack Chambers has said the average worker will be 1,000 euros better off from the planned income tax cuts and rises in welfare rates, while also stashing money away in a new sovereign wealth fund. Ministers will again include an added package of "one-off" financial supports to help households with the cost of living, even though inflation has fallen to almost zero from 5% a year ago and 9% the year before that. Ireland has struggled to keep up with the demands of a fast-growing economy and population and make real progress with intractable problems in housing, transport and healthcare despite sharp capital spending increases. Analysts welcome the commitment to using the windfall gains on persistent deficits in crucial infrastructure, but they say the government needs to get reforms right in areas like planning to really capitalise on its exceptional fiscal position. ($1 = 0.8961 euros) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ireland-unveil-bumper-pre-election-budget-apple-windfall-plans-2024-09-30/