USA

The dollar eased on Monday ahead of a slew of U.S. economic releases that could provide further clarity on the Federal Reserve’s rate path, while the growing risk of a U.S. government shutdown also came into sharp focus. Currency moves were largely subdued in the Asian session, though the dollar gave up some gains after ending last week stronger on the back of reduced Fed rate-cut bets. Against the yen, the dollar was down 0.4% to 148.94, after having risen more than 1% against the Japanese currency last week. The euro rose 0.28% to $1.1731, while sterling edged 0.27% higher to $1.3439. The dollar index was down 0.22% to 97.93, having risen 0.5% last week. Top of investors’ minds was a looming U.S. government shutdown should Congress fail to pass a funding bill before t...

The US economy grew faster than previously thought this spring, fuelled by robust consumer spending and falling imports, according to new government data. Gross domestic product (GDP), which measures goods and services production, rose at an annualised rate of 3.8% in the period from April through June - up from the previous estimate of 3.3%. The second quarter growth - the fastest pace in nearly two years - followed a contraction earlier this year. Economists said the US economy was doing reasonably well but some uncertainties remain. Consumer spending rose by 2.5% in the year to the end of June, up from a previous estimate of 1.6%. In the first three months of 2025, the US economy shrank at a rate of 0.6% as companies rushed in imports to get ahead of US President Don...

The output of the U.S. economy as measured by Gross Domestic Product bounced back more than previously thought in the second quarter, powered by an increase in consumer spending. That's according to a report from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, which said that GDP grew at an inflation-adjusted annual rate of 3.8% in the second quarter, compared with its previous estimate of 3.3% growth. It was the fastest growth since the third quarter of 2023, and a rebound from the 0.6% decline in GDP in the first quarter. Forecasters had expected growth to stay at 3.3% according to a survey of economists by Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal. The increased estimate was largely due to an upward revision in consumer spending, which rose at a 2.5% annual rate over the quarter...

Data from the Pew Research Centrer suggests that US immigrant population has fallen by over a million people since Trump took over as President. US President Donald Trump has led a massive crackdown against illegal immigration since taking over in January — with officials arresting or detaining more than a 100,000 people. The stringent curbs have now prompted a decline in the immigration population for the first time in over 50 years. Data from the Pew Research Centrer suggests that US immigrant population has fallen by over a million people since Trump took over as President. What does the data say?According to a new study, the year had begun with a record 53.3 million immigrants living in the United States. This number has declined sharply in the ensuing months as more immigra...

Recent patterns in global risk behaviour in financial markets Following the US tariff announcements in early April, the US dollar strongly depreciated while US Treasury yields rose. This column zooms in on the April episode, analysing the co-movement of asset prices with an estimated market ‘safe-haven factor’. It shows that the co-movement of the US dollar with the ‘safe-haven factor’ changed in April, and that instances of changing co-movement have been at times observed in the past. It further illustrates that available US portfolio investment data for April showed high shifts in demand for US assets, but such shifts were not unprecedented in scale and appear to have normalised since May. In recent months, global financial markets have witnessed episodes of heightened volatil...