Both contracts touched their highest since Jan. 8, 2020, earlier in the session with Brent at $67.49 and WTI at $63.67. The April Brent contract expires on Friday
"We are just being honest about the challenge," Powell told lawmakers when asked about Fed projections that inflation will remain at or below the central bank's 2% target through 2023
Analysts have long predicted economic activity will pick up as more people are vaccinated, but hopes for a quick path to a fully immunized populace have faded amid vaccine shortages
The path of the economy continues to depend significantly on the course of the virus
Lawmakers on both sides said a provision by Sen Pat Toomey, R-Pa, that would curb emergency Federal Reserve powers was the sticking point
New York Fed President John Williams says a full recovery will have to wait for a vaccine, with the health crisis putting a "question mark" on the economy
Republican leaders have previously said they would not advance the nominations unless they were confident that Trump's controversial pick for one of the two open posts
"We have no intention to change our inflation targeting policy and forward guidance," Kuroda said in an online International Banking Seminar of the Group of 30.
The Fed's governing board made that vow last week at its regularly scheduled policy meeting, promising to leave rates at their current near-zero levels until the economy reaches full employment
The Fed, in its "Beige Book" report, highlighted the uneven rebound underway in the US economy
Asian markets were mostly higher on Friday after the Federal Reserve said it might keep interest rates low even if inflation rises, in a major overhaul to its strategy. Shares rose in Japan, South Korea, Shanghai and Hong Kong but fell in Sydney. Overnight, the S&P 500 ticked 0.2% higher, further into record territory and closing at 3,484.55, after Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said in a speech that it might keep interest rates low to help prop up the pandemic ravaged economy even if inflation rises above its target level of 2%. The hoped for change in the Fed's strategy is a huge deal for markets that have been rescued by central banks slashing short-term interest rates and buying all kinds of bonds. Japan's consumer price index rose 0.3% in July, the government reported, down from 0.6% the month before. The Bank of Japan has kept interest rates near or even below zero for most of the past decade, seeking to spur inflation and entice companies and consumers to spend more. .
All that happened in the markets today
Surveys show that most want to keep working at home at least part-time even after the pandemic is over, and a recent survey by the Atlanta Fed shows firms expect that as well
All that happened in the markets today
The Federal Reserve, in the minutes of its July meeting, raised concerns that the US economic recovery from the devastating effects of the pandemic faced a highly uncertain path
The article comes on the heels of a similar warning from Guo in an interview with Xinhua
The increase in infections has raised the downside risks to the economic outlook and suggests the reopening of the U.S. economy may be more protracted
All that happened in the markets today
The quarterly results announcement by Reliance Industries and HDFC will be the major market mover today. Analysts expect a dent in RIL's retail and energy verticals in the June quarter
The extensions apply to those facilities that were due to expire on or around September 30, the Fed said in a statement