While the annual headline figure is still some way below the 11% it peaked at two years ago after the outbreak of the Ukraine war, the fact that it has aggressively risen above the Bank of England’s 2% medium-term target could prove problematic for the central bank given the hefty public spending increases in the…
Most Asian currencies were also nursing steep losses over the past two weeks as the dollar shot up to one-year highs after Trump’s election. The Japanese yen was among the worst-hit by this trade.
Still, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the country would do all it could to avoid nuclear war. But hostilities with Ukraine persisted, as both countries launched debilitating attacks against each other over the past week.
Bitcoin moved little on Wednesday, steadying just below a record high hit earlier this week as sentiment towards cryptocurrencies remained upbeat on the prospect of friendlier U.S. regulations.
Crude oil for January delivery was up 0.22% or 0.15 to $69.39 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in January rose 0.14% or 0.10 to hit $73.41 a barrel, while the December Gold Futures contract rose 0.01% or 0.30 to trade at $2,631.30 a troy ounce.
China is widely expected to leave its benchmark lending rates unchanged on Wednesday, a Reuters poll showed, as rate cuts a month earlier squeeze banks’ profitability and the yuan comes under fresh pressure as Donald Trump returns to the White House.
The yen got some much-needed respite on Tuesday as it steadied on the stronger side of 155 per dollar thanks to a pullback in the U.S. currency, which ran into profit-taking after a stellar rally that saw it scale a one-year high.
Gold prices rose in Asian trade on Tuesday, extending a recovery from two-month lows as the dollar retreated from recent peaks, while increased tensions between Russia and Ukraine also fed safe haven demand.
The buy was by far the company’s biggest purchase of the cryptocurrency, furthering its spot as the world’s biggest corporate holder of Bitcoin. The company now holds a total 331,200 Bitcoins, and has flagged plans to purchase even more coins in the coming years.
The eurozone’s final consumer inflation reading for October remains the focal point for the region, as traders await confirmation of price pressures and their potential impact on European Central Bank policy.
