Fed officials support the dollar

The dollar

The USD regained some strength after Fed policymakers said on Monday they were awaiting more signs of slowing inflation before considering interest rate cuts. Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson considers it too early to tell whether the inflation slowdown is "long-lasting."

Vice Chair Michael Barr believes restrictive policy needs more time. As for Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic, it will "take a while" for the central bank to be confident that a price growth slowdown is sustainable.

Oil & Copper

Once again, with deflating hopes of a fed rate cut, fears of weakening oil demand took over, sending oil prices down. Precious metals have also lost some ground in the past 24 hours. Copper also fell from the record high set on Monday. Traders prefer to wait a little, as a firmer dollar makes greenback-priced metals more expensive for holders of other currencies.

The Federal Reserve

More Fed officials are due to speak today, ahead of the Fed minutes set to be published on Wednesday evening. Among them are Richmond Fed president Thomas Barkin, Fed board member Christopher Waller, and New York Fed president John Williams.

The Reserve Bank of Australia

A couple of weeks ago, the Reserve Bank of Australia decided to keep its cash rate unchanged at 4.35%. The meeting minutes published earlier on Tuesday revealed that the Australian central bank considered raising rates on higher inflation risks. It finally decided to keep its policy unchanged, partly to avoid what is called "excessively fine-tuning." Also in Australia, the Westpac Consumer Sentiment Index fell to 82.4 points in April, sliding for a third straight month. The index has also held below 100 for over two years, the longest since the early-1990s recession.

The Canadian consumer price index

Later this afternoon, the Canadian consumer price index is anticipated to rise by 2.7% in April year-over-year (YoY), slowing from the 2.9% recorded the previous month. Core consumer price index (CPI) growth should remain at 2% YoY, its lowest level since April 2021. This data is of utmost importance for the Bank of Canada, which is due to decide on its rate on Wednesday, June 5. Although inflation data has been showing some progress, Bank of Canada (BOC) Governor Tiff Macklem still considers more needs to be done to confidently warrant looser monetary policy.

Topps Tiles

Elsewhere on the equity market, Topps Tiles shares at the open posted an adjusted pretax profit of $3.1 million in H1, to be compared with £4.4 million a year ago. Like-for-like sales in the period fell 9.2%. It proposed an interim dividend of 1.2 pence, unchanged for H1 2023.

AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca expects to deliver $80 billion in total revenue by 2030. The group is counting on the launch of 20 new medicines and growth in its existing oncology, biopharmaceuticals, and rare disease portfolio.

Peloton Interactive

Peloton Interactive shares fell 4% after the US closing bell on Monday after the company announced measures to refinance its debt. The fitness equipment maker will sell $275 million of convertible senior notes due in 2029 in a private offering. Peloton has also entered into a $1 billion five-year term loan facility and a $100 million five-year revolving credit. The proceeds will be used to repurchase about $800 million of convertible senior notes due in 2026 and to refinance its existing term loan.