- The dollar strengthened against the yen on Friday, hitting a two-week high, after the Bank of Japan kept interest rates unchanged and indicated it was in no hurry to raise them again
- The BOJ is taking its time to assess the impact of global economic uncertainty, Governor Kazuo Ueda said at a news conference following the central bank’s move, adding that its monetary policy decisions will be based on “economic, price and financial developments.” The BOJ kept interest rates steady at 0.25%, a move that was widely expected.
- Gold rose above $2,600 on Friday for the first time, extending a rally fueled by speculation of further U.S. interest rate cuts and rising tensions in the Middle East.
- Spot gold rose 1.3% to $2,620.63 an ounce by 1:43 p.m. ET (1743 GMT), while U.S. gold futures settled 1.2% higher at $2,646.20.
- Bullion’s latest rally got a boost after the Federal Reserve kicked off an aggressive easing cycle on Wednesday with a half-percentage-point reduction, adding to the appeal of non-interest-bearing bullion.
- Signs of an economic slowdown in top commodity consumer China boosted prices. But for the week, both benchmarks closed up more than 4%.
- Wall Street closed flat on Friday, near the record closing highs hit by the Dow and S&P 500 in the previous session. Days after a rate cut, two Fed chairmen offered opposing views on the inflation outlook, underscoring the scale of the debate over a move that Fed Chairman Jerome Powell has positioned as an effort to keep the economy resilient rather than an emergency response to weak jobs data.
- All three major U.S. stock indexes ended the week higher, not far from all-time peaks hit on Thursday as buyers turned to riskier assets.
