The Fed will continue to aggressively raise interest rates. Russia has once again confirmed that it is a terrorist state

By JustForex

Federal Reserve officials expect another major interest rate hike this month as they rush to curb demand. Fed spokesman Chris Waller said Friday that he supports another significant 75 basis point hike. Earlier, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said he is also leaning toward another massive move when officials meet September 20-21.

A growing number of major banks changed their forecasts this month by 75 from 50 basis points, including economists at Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Deutsche Bank AG, Barclays Plc, and Bank of America Corp.

At the close of the stock market on Friday, the Dow Jones Index (US30) increased by 1.19% (+1.09% for the week), and the S&P 500 Index (US500) added 1.53% (+1.82% for the week). Technology Index NASDAQ (US100) gained 0.27% (+4.72% for the week).

Equity markets in Europe were mostly up on Friday. German DAX (DE30) gained 1.43% (+2.03% for the week), French CAC 40 (FR40) gained 1.41% (+2.71% for the week), Spanish IBEX 35 (ES35) jumped by 1.47% (+2.95% for the week), British FTSE 100 (UK100) added 1.23% (+0.96% for the week).

Thousands of Russian troops retreated in the face of a lightning-fast Ukrainian offensive in the Kharkiv region that thwarted the Kremlin’s attempts to consolidate control over eastern Ukraine. The Institute for the Study of War, a US-based think tank, now estimates about 2,500 square kilometers liberated. In response, Russia hit critical infrastructure with missiles and temporarily left several areas without power and water. Thus, Russia once again demonstrated that it is a terrorist state.

The EU countries failed to agree on a price limit for gas from Russia. The maximum price would be expected to be $520 per thousand cubic meters. However, the EU countries failed to reach an agreement. The gas price cap is the main emergency measure called for by the European Commission’s Energy Agency to help households and businesses with rising energy bills.

On Sunday, Britain rejected as false Russian President Vladimir Putin’s claim that only a small portion of the grain exported from Ukraine in an international deal was going to poor countries. Without citing a source, Putin said Wednesday that only two of the 87 ships carrying 60,000 tons of produce went to poor countries. Citing UN data, the UK Defense Department said that about 30% of the grain exported in the deal went to low and middle-income countries in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. Thus, Putin has once again confirmed that he is a liar. According to a daily British intelligence bulletin, Russia is employing a deliberate strategy of disinformation to deflect blame for food security problems, discredit Ukraine, and minimize opposition to its invasion.

Gold prices rose slightly on Monday, maintaining last week’s slight gains, as the dollar retreated from a 20-year high ahead of this week’s release of key US inflation data. With fuel costs now declining, inflation could see new signs of cooling. This could give gold a temporary boost.

Asian markets traded higher last week. Japan’s Nikkei 225 (JP225) gained 2.35% over the week, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng (HK50) gained 0.33% over the week, and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 (AU200) was up by 0.96% over the week.

At the commodities market, futures on wheat (+7.52%), palladium (+7.3%), lumber (+7.05%), platinum (+6.68%), silver (+5.06%), copper (+4.15%), and corn (+2.89%) showed the biggest gains last week. Natural gas futures (-8.51%) and cocoa futures (-2.11%) showed the biggest drop.

S&P 500 (F) (US500)  4,067.36 +61.18 (+1.53%)

Dow Jones (US30) 32,151.71  +377.19 (+1.19%)

DAX (DE40) 13,088.21  +183.89 (+1.43%)

FTSE 100 (UK100)  7,351.07 +89.01 (+1.23%)

USD Index 108.97  −0.73 (−0.67%)

• – UK GDP (q/q) at 09:00 (GMT+3);
• – UK Industrial Production (m/m) at 09:00 (GMT+3);
• – UK Manufacturing Production (m/m) at 09:00 (GMT+3).

By JustForex

This article reflects a personal opinion and should not be interpreted as an investment advice, and/or offer, and/or a persistent request for carrying out financial transactions, and/or a guarantee, and/or a forecast of future events.