Markets:
- WTI crude oil was down $0.49, or -0.65%, at $73.43
- Gold fell -$2.23 or -0.08% to $2636.47
- Euro silver was down $0.35 or 1.17% at $29.94
- Bitcoin bounced back above the $100,000 level at $101,830. The high price reached $102,514
The US dollar fell against most major currency pairs with the exception of the JPY (the dollar gained 0.21%). USD was the biggest loser against CAD (-0.84%) despite Prime Minister Trudeau stepping down as Prime Minister, but not until a new leader is elected. The US dollar was also weaker by -0.78% against the EUR, and by -0.79% against the GBP. Below are the % changes of the major currencies against the USD:
Basically, the fall of the dollar was influenced by a Washington Post article in which Pres. elect Trump is considering imposing global tariffs, but only on ‘critical materials’.
Trump later denied the article, saying:
The Washington Post story, citing so-called anonymous sources, which do not exist, falsely states that my tariff policy will be reduced. That is wrong. The Washington Post knows it’s wrong. It’s just another example of fake news.
Despite his protest, the dollar’s decline remained.
U.S. yields did come in lower than the original report, but they dragged down the yield curve. The two-year yield remained lower by -0.9 basis points. Looking at a snapshot of the yield curve near the close for the day shows:
- Two-year yield 4.270%, -0.9 basis points
- 5-year yield 4.424%, +1.4 basis points
- 10-year yield 4.623%, +2.9 basis points
- 30-year yield 4.845%, +3.0 basis points
As for the economic calendar,
- The S&P global composite index fell to 55.4 from 56.6 preliminary. That was up from last month’s 54.9
- US factory orders fell -0.4% versus estimates of -0.3%.
The Fed’s speech was limited to Fed Governor Cook saying that while the labor market has cooled over the past year, it remains solid and is not a significant source of inflation. She pointed out that the risks to inflation and employment are now roughly balanced, which allows the Federal Reserve to take a cautious approach to interest rate cuts. Cook highlighted private credit and artificial intelligence as emerging risks to financial stability and suggested that a rate cut to neutral would be appropriate over time.
Broader US stock indexes rose for the second day in a row. The Dow industrial average fell. A screenshot of the final numbers shows:
- Dow Industrial Average, -0.06%
- S&P index, +0.55%
- NASDAQ Index, +1.24%
- Russell 2000, -0.08%
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang will deliver the keynote address at CES 2025 on Monday at 6:30 PM PT. Rumors suggest the event will feature new PC GPUs, updates on robotics, AI ventures in the cloud, and possible details on the next-generation “Rubin” chip to follow the Blackwell chip. From Tuesday to Friday, Nvidia will showcase advances in AI, gaming and automotive technologies. Nvidia shares closed at a new record high of $149.43, up 3.43%