The pound held steady ahead of a string of UK data that could help cement expectations for a Bank of England rate cut later in the week. Markets show traders are almost fully pricing in a rate cut on Thursday, when the BoE meets, and traders expect another cut by the middle of 2026.
Oil prices closed lower on Friday, marking a 4% weekly decline as a supply glut and a potential Russia-Ukraine peace deal outweighed worries about any impact from the U.S. seizure of an oil tanker near Venezuela.
Nvidia has told Chinese clients it is evaluating adding production capacity for its powerful H200 AI chips after orders exceeded its current output level. The move comes after U.S. President Trump said the U.S. government would allow Nvidia to export H200 processors to China.
China plans to expand exports and imports next year as part of efforts to promote “sustainable” trade. The trillion-dollar trade surplus posted by the world’s second-largest economy is stirring tensions with Beijing’s trade partners and drawing criticism from the observers who say its production-focused economic growth model is unsustainable.
The U.S dollar slumped, hitting multi-month lows against the euro, Swiss franc, and sterling and extending losses from the previous session after the Federal Reserve delivered a less hawkish outlook than some had expected.
Gold rose to hit its highest level in more than a month after the U.S. Federal Reserve’s quarter-point rate cut pushed the dollar lower, while silver surged to a record high. U.S. gold futures for February delivery settled 2.1% higher.
