Analysis: Currencies

Asia FX rattles and Merz stumbles

A look at what matters in U.S. and global markets today from Mike Dolan, Editor-At-Large, Finance and Markets World markets are getting nervy again on the back of fresh salvos in...

Taiwanese life insurers' portfolios have billions of unhedged dollars

SINGAPORE -Taiwan's currency is at three-year highs after notching unprecedented gains as insurance firms, pension funds and other investors quit U.S. dollar assets or scramble to hedge exposure.  ...

China's yuan ends at six-month high as carry trades unwind

SHANGHAI -China's yuan finished the domestic trading session at a six-month high against the dollar on Tuesday, underpinned by an unwinding of carry trades and a broader rush out of U.S. assets and...

'Asian crisis in reverse' as currencies soar on the dollar

SINGAPORE/SHANGHAI -A wave of dollar selling in Asia is an ominous sign for the greenback as the world's export powerhouse starts to question a decades-long trend of investing its big trade surpluses...

Euro zone economic growth slows in April, services near stagnation, PMI shows

The euro zone economy continued to expand in April but at a slower pace as demand weakened and the dominant services sector nearly stagnated, suggesting the region's recovery remains fragile, a survey...

South African rand steady as PMI hits neutral mark

JOHANNESBURG -The South African rand held steady for much of Tuesday's trading session after the release of a purchasing managers' index survey that showed the country's private sector showed signs...

Portugal's Novo Banco quarterly profit falls on lower interest margin

LISBON -Portugal's fourth-largest lender Novo Banco, which is preparing for an initial public offering, said on Tuesday its first-quarter net profit fell 1.9% to 177.2 million euros due to growing...

Russia's Rosatom sues Finnish firms $2.8 billion over nuclear plant contract

MOSCOW -Russia's Rosatom has filed a lawsuit in Moscow against Finland's Fortum and Outokumpu, demanding 227.8 billion roubles in compensation for losses over the termination of a contract for the...

Taiwan dollar's record rally is a trade-war tremor

SINGAPORE/TAIPEI -An unprecedented two-day surge in Taiwan's currency is the latest leg of a scramble out of the U.S. dollar and signal of disquiet in markets as U.S. President Donald Trump's trade...

Trump says won't remove Fed chair Powell, says good parts of economy are his doing

WASHINGTON -U.S. President Donald Trump said he will not remove Jerome Powell as Federal Reserve Board chairman before his term ends in May 2026 while describing the central banker as a total stiff...

Spain must raise defence spending to 3% of GDP, says EU defence chief

MADRID -Spain will have to raise defence spending to 3% of gross domestic product, the European defence commissioner said in a newspaper interview published on Saturday, as European countries bend to...

Trump says US in transition period, downplays impact of short-term recession

WASHINGTON -President Donald Trump said on Friday the U.S. was in a transition period and was going to do fantastically while downplaying the impact any short-term recession may have. ...

Fed gets no reason to rush on rate cuts as job market holds up

Federal Reserve policymakers on the alert for possible cracks in the labor market as businesses adjust to President Donald Trump's erratic trade policy got some reassurance on Friday that so far...

April US payrolls growth slows before full tariff impact felt

U.S. job growth slowed marginally in April, but the outlook for the labor market is increasingly darkening as President Donald Trump's aggressive tariff policy heightens economic uncertainty. ...

Exclusive-Europe to hand billions in frozen Russian cash to Western investors, sources say

BRUSSELS -Euroclear plans to seize and redistribute about 3 billion euros of Russia's funds that are frozen at the Belgian clearing firm after Moscow grabbed investor cash in Russia, according to...

Sterling edges up against weaker dollar ahead of key U.S. data

Sterling edged up against a weaker dollar on Friday, staying near a three-year high scaled earlier in the week as the U.S. currency lost ground over U.S. President Donald Trump's announced sweeping...

BOJ sees window for rate hikes narrowing but not closed yet

TOKYO -The Bank of Japan's rate-hike cycle is facing its biggest test since Governor Kazuo Ueda took the helm two years ago, with U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs rapidly narrowing the window...

Rupee hits six-month peak before retreating on likely central bank intervention

The Indian rupee soared past 84 per U.S. dollar to touch a near six-month peak on Friday before reversing course on the back of likely dollar buying intervention by the central bank, via state-run...

Japan Q1 GDP likely contracted on soft domestic demand, import surge

Japan's economy probably contracted for the first time in a year in the first quarter, weighed down by softer domestic demand and imports outperforming exports, a Reuters poll showed, as U.S....