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Market Brief, North America

Inflation Heats Up, Clobbering Fed Bets

Consumer price growth accelerated in the United States last month, bolstering the case for a cautious approach to easing from the Federal Reserve—and raising the odds on a rate hike at some point this year. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the headline all-items consumer price index climbed 3.0 percent year-over-year in January, accelerating slightly from the 2.9 percent pace set in December, and rose 0.5 percent from the previous month. The core measure—with highly-volatile food and energy prices excluded—rose 3.3 percent in January from the same period last year, and rose 0.4 percent on a month-over-month basis, marking...

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Markets Steady As Event Risks Loom

Currency traders are treading cautiously after Donald Trump raised taxes on steel and aluminum imports into the United States, and price action is slowing ahead of this morning’s testimony from Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell and tomorrow’s inflation update. North American equity futures are setting up for a negative open, the benchmark ten-year Treasury yield is up roughly 2 basis points, and the dollar is consolidating gains achieved in the run-up to last night’s tariff announcement. President Trump signed two executive orders last night imposing 25-percent tariffs on all steel and aluminum products, saying “It’s a big deal. This is...

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Markets Look Through Renewed Tariff Threats

The dollar is up modestly against its major rivals after Donald Trump verbally threatened to increase tariffs for the third weekend in a row. In a press briefing conducted on Air Force One ahead of yesterday’s Super Bowl, the president told reporters that he would unveil new reciprocal tariffs—levies designed to match foreign protectionist measures—in the coming days, and will impose 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum products from all US trading partners today. Reciprocal tariffs—which are designed to match protectionist measures in other countries—are generally well supported on both sides of the aisle, and are not terribly impactful...

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Positive Jobs Reports Bolster Risk Appetite

The US job creation engine slowed in January, but revisions to November and December numbers illustrated continued strength in labour markets, helping keep the Federal Reserve firmly sidelined. According to data just released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, just 143,000 jobs were added in the month—undershooting the 175,000-position consensus forecast—but December’s headline print was revised higher to 307,000 from the 256,000 originally estimated, and November’s number jumped to 261,000 from 212,000, lifting the three-month average to 237,000. The unemployment rate slipped to 4.1 percent, and average hourly earnings climbed 0.5 percent month-over-month, accelerating from the pace set in the...

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Markets Stabilise as Policy Risks Recede

Financial markets are overcoming post-traumatic stress syndrome three days after Donald Trump started—and then temporarily paused—a potentially-catastrophic trade war with Canada and Mexico. Benchmark ten-year Treasury yields are inching lower and major equity bourses are headed for a stronger open after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called tariffs a “means to an end,” and said the new administration is focused on bringing down interest rates. The dollar is holding firm against its rivals. The number of Americans submitting initial applications for unemployment benefits rose incrementally to 219,000 in the week ended February 1, and continuing claims fell slightly in the prior...

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